Being fast at the NFL Combine doesn’t always mean you’ll be drafted early, nor is it always lucrative. This year that may be a little different.
ESPN.com is reporting that Adidas is offering a shoe deal to the fastest player at the NFL Combine.
Adidas has had billboards in Indianapolis, the site of the event, promising a shoe deal to the player that ran the fastest time. On Saturday, the shoe company put an ad on a flap on the cover of the Indianapolis Star promoting the marketing idea.
“Run the fastest 40, and get a contract offer,” the ad said.
Adidas is using the ad to promote its lightweight adizero 5-star prime cleats, which weigh 5.3 oz. Players reportedly can run in Adidas shoes should they choose, but Under Armour, has the marketing rights to the combine.
Players who sign with Adidas can not wear the company’s logos on the playing field because Adidas doesn’t have a marketing deal with the NFL, unlike Nike and Under Armour.
Some of the players who are favorites to run the fastest time include Tennessee’s Cordarrelle Patterson, University of North Carolina’s Giovani Bernard and Marquise Goodwin of Texas.
Adidas spokesman Michael Ehrlich said that the company will come through with an offer on a contract, but there is no minimum.
So don’t get to excited athletes, that offer can be as low as Adidas chooses to make it.
