NFL QUARTERBACK Cam Newton has been handed a lucrative contract with sports energy drink Gatorade in a multi-year endorsement deal announced this week.
Despite details of the partnership remaining undisclosed, Frontloaded estimates the Carolina Panthers star will be paid around $1m per year.
Newton’s involvement as a Gatorade athlete will see him appear in digital, print and television advertising campaigns alongside fellow NFL players Eli and Peyton Manning and Ladainian Tomlinson.
Both parties took to social media to announce the deal. Gatorade tweeted: ‘Shout out to Cam Newton, our newest #Gatorade athlete!’ while Newton updated his Facebook status: ‘After using Gatorade products since I started playing youth football, it’s an honor to now be part of the Gatorade family. What a difference a year makes!’
According to the brand’s website, Newton, who only began his professional career in July 2011, has become the 36th sports star to join the Gatorade stable. He will be a brand ambassador alongside global superstars such as Usain Bolt, Serena Williams and retired basketball player Michael Jordan.
From Gatorade’s perspective the agreement with Newton will further extend an already well-established presence in American football. A subsidiary of the Pepsico corporation, which signed a record-breaking $1 billion sponsorship renewal with the NFL in September last year, Gatorade is one of two ever-present brands on the gridiron along with Motorola.
Negotiating on behalf of Gatorade for the Cam Newton endorsement contract was Sarah Robb O'Hagan, Gatorade president North America and global chief marketing officer, sports nutrition. Newton is represented by Bus Cook of BC Sports.
By Luke Harman
luke.harman@sportbusiness.com