Facing allegations of child-abuse, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is now in danger of losing his sponsorship deal with Nike. The global shoe brand announced today that they are suspending their endorsement contract with Peterson, effective immediately. ESPN's Darren Rovell tweeted out a statement from Nike just minutes ago:
BREAKING: Nike has suspended its endorsement contract with Adrian Peterson pic.twitter.com/Oq87qNxLYb
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) September 17, 2014
Nike's desire to publicly distance itself from Peterson goes in hand with Anheuser-Busch's public rebuke of the NFL yesterday, as well as the Radisson hotel chain's suspension of their sponsorship contract with the Minnesota Vikings. As higher-profile sponsors begin to back away from the league, the NFL is going to be forced to act swiftly and responsibly to the scandals currently taking over their league. As we've learned before, the fastest way to a corporation's heart is through its wallet.