Earlier this week Anheuser-Busch, one of the NFL's most prominent sponsors, issued a statement that expressed their concern with the league's handling of various issues involving players in legal situations. It was recently discovered that the brewing company has a way out of their sponsorship contract.
Following the way the Minnesota Vikings handled the situation involving Adrian Peterson's child abuse allegations, a few sponsors associated with the league had something to say about it. Peterson was deactivated last Friday after news broke that he was indicted by a grand jury on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child. He did not participate in the team's Week 2 game against the New England Patriots, but on Monday general manager Rick Spielman announced that the running back would be reinstated.
Radisson Hotels quickly responded to the announcement and suspended their sponsorship with the Vikings and said they "take this matter very seriously particularly in light of our long-standing commitment to the protection of children." The next day, Anheuser-Busch voiced their concern about the current state of affairs in the NFL, which likely has the league on its toes now.
"We are disappointed and increasingly concerned by the recent incidents that have overshadowed this NFL season. We are not yet satisfied with the league's handling of behaviors that so clearly go against our own company culture and moral code. We have shared our concerns and expectations with the league," the statement read.
Visa, McDonald's and Campbell Soup Co. said they have also contacted the league to express their worries on the matter. Anheuser-Busch is the exclusive beer sponsor of the NFL and commits about $200 million per year in rights fees and advertising on top of spending millions on advertising for the Super Bowl. In 2013 the NFL made $6 billion in revenue, and just over $1 billion of that was from sponsors. Anheuser-Busch's contract accounts for about 20% of the league's sponsorship revenue.
So how can the brewing company back out of their deal with the NFL if they wanted to? A source with a copy of the contract provided the details to ESPN.com and the one clause relative to the current goings-on suggests that Anheuser-Busch could "unilaterally end the deal in writing if a 'league-wide' event 'brings the entire NFL, not just particular member clubs, players, coaches or employees, into national disrepute, scandal or ridicule.'"
The question is, will they do it? The answer is probably not. And the main reason is because they wouldn't be sending much of a message if they did. Another beer company would simply rush to the front of the line to ink a sponsorship contract with the NFL, so only Anheuser-Busch would lose in such a situation.
