Vick's Return to NFL Casts Light on Corporate Sponsorships

Sponsors Stick With Eagles, but Did Team Owe Them Any Advance Warning of Signing?
By Rich Thomaselli
http://adage.com/article?article_id=138535

"Our partnership includes a variety of community-related initiatives and reinforces our focus on supporting civic, cultural and educational programs in all the communities where we operate. We have no role in Eagles operations, including personnel decisions." Lincoln Financial committed $140 million over 20 years in 2002 for naming rights to the stadium.

Surprisingly, there has been little public backlash so far. Less than 10 season ticket-holders have canceled, and other than a call for a boycott of sponsors on the website sackvick.net, there has been little hostility shown toward the Eagles' corporate sponsors. (sackvick.net, what a horrible website! the design is bad, the posts are immature, Example: "Its one thing for companies to purchase suites from the Eagles for business but another to take their kids to a game to cheer for an ex-felon guilty of torturing and killing dogs. So we would also like to know if Suite Holders will continue to take their kids and families to the game.")

Everything is related... this goes along with the article I read yesterday about the value of sports brands -
Six of Forbes Top 10 Most Valuable Sports Franchises in the world are NFL teams.
1. Manchester United $1.8B
2. Dallas Cowboys $1.6
3. Washington Redskins $1.5
4. New England Patriots $1.32
5. New York Yankees $1.3
6. Real Madrid $1.29
7. Arsenal $1.2
8. New York Giants $1.18
9. New York Jets $1.17
10. Houston Texans $1.17

•MLB wouldn't allow Michael Vick on the field because MLB is "America's past time" and an "affordable family sport" that generates the majority of its revenue from licensing and ticket sales.
•Vick is a good fit for a league dedicated to beating-itself every year by rolling with the punches and pulling out all the stops.
•In an odd way, he is now in a similar position as his canine victims. He has to perform every time. If he fails early on, there won't be room for him in the NFL.