Nike Picking Up McFadden's Training Tab; Endorsement Deal Next?

By Liz Mullen , Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal As top NFL Draft prospect Darren McFadden prepares for the scouting combine, his training tab is being picked up by Nike as part of the shoe company’s sponsorship of the Michael Johnson Performance Center, sparking speculation that the Univ. of Arkansas (UA) RB will sign an endorsement deal with Nike. Nike Dir of U.S. Media Relations Dean Stoyer in an e-mail said McFadden does not have a signed agreement with Nike “at this time.” “Who Mr. McFadden signs with is up to Mr. McFadden but there is certainly an opportunity for us to demonstrate what Nike is all about … hard work and peak performance,” Stoyer wrote. Olympic Gold Medal-winning sprinter Johnson opened the Nike-sponsored training center last year after previously training a number of top NFL Draft prospects, including current Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson, at IMG Academies for former IMG and current CAA Sports football agent Tom Condon. Johnson’s training center in McKinney, Texas, is sponsored by Nike. “As an official training center for Nike athletes, they will send us athletes year in and year out,” Johnson said. “They have been in discussions with Darren ... so he came in on their allotment.” BUCKING THE TREND : Historically, NFL contract agents have paid for and arranged for pre-combine training for their prospective rookie clients, but this is the first year that NFL agents have been prohibited from contacting third-year juniors until the NFL officially releases the list of underclassmen that declared for the NFL Draft on Saturday. There has been a lot of speculation in football circles that top juniors, including McFadden, would not be ready to work out at the combine since NFL agents pay for and often control the slots at the top training programs. “I am not sure if he will run at the combine, but we are preparing to (do it),” Johnson said, adding that was a decision McFadden would make with his eventual agent. LOOKING FOR MARKETING AGENT : Meanwhile, the McFadden family is close to choosing a marketing agent, according to NBA player agent Mike Conley Sr., an advisor to the family as well as a candidate for the marketing agent job. Conley, who attended UA and won a Gold Medal at the '92 Barcelona Games, said the goal of the McFadden family is to have a marketing agent “in place” before Saturday. Sources said other marketing agents being considered for the job include Mike Ornstein, Bill Henkel and Jamey Crimmins of The Agency. Conley said he is a friend of Johnson and recommended his training center to McFadden’s father, but does not know who paid for the training. But he added that the training center arrangement does not necessarily mean that McFadden will ink a deal with Nike. “What I am saying is that Darren McFadden hasn’t decided to be a Nike athlete or an adidas athlete or a Reebok athlete,” Conley said.

Nike Paying McFadden's Training Expenses; No Endorsement Deal In Place Yet