Alleged Michael Vick Nike Endorsement Sets off Social Media, But It’s Not What It Seems

Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick has been making headlines recently, but the reasons are quite different than what is expected. A petition is attempting to have him removed as an honorary captain at the NFL Pro Bowl, and now critics and fans alike are discussing a “new” endorsement deal with Nike. However, this deal isn’t actually anything new or groundbreaking.

Tuesday evening and into Wednesday morning, hundreds of users on Twitter posted about how Nike was either “fantastic” or “evil” based upon an article circulating. The subject line said that the athletic company had signed Vick to a new endorsement deal. However, some actually clicked on the headline and realized that this article had originally been written in 2011.

“Here’s an example of taking personal responsibility for the information one consumes,” one user wrote. “I saw this trending and was ready to fire off a retweet (like so many have) but then decided to actually CLICK THE LINK. This article is from 2011.”

With Vick trending, a large number of users on Twitter were either angered at the sight of his name next to Nike or overjoyed that an endorsement deal had been struck. However, only a rare few actually opted to click on the article and see that it was from 2011.

“Vick has a new endorsement deal with Nike. I know some y’all are hot!” one user wrote on Wednesday morning.

Another countered with “Lmao people are really sharing an article about mike Vick’s endorsement from Nike from 2011!! Do a little bit of research you f—ing bozo’s lol.”

In the article in question, it was revealed following the 2010 NFL season that Nike had signed Vick to an endorsement deal. The shoe giant had originally cut ties with him when he went to federal prison on dog fighting charges. However, the former first overall pick made his return to the league as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles and earned another deal with Nike.

In 2010, Vick was named to the NFL Pro Bowl after taking over as the starting quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles and leading the team to a 10-6 record and an appearance in the playoffs. He threw for 3,018 yards and 21 touchdowns with only six interceptions. Vick also tallied 100 carries for 676 yards and nine touchdowns as a running quarterback.

While Vick does not currently have an endorsement deal with Nike, there are many users on Twitter that are now experiencing a range of emotions based on this old/new information.

(Photo Credit: Leon Bennett/Getty)