The decision not to get vaccinated against Covid can be very expensive. The clearest consequences are the decisions of the countries not to let him play their tournaments, a door that has been opened by Australia and followed by the United Kingdom, France or the United States. But this is not the only front you are going to have to deal with.
In 2021, the Serb entered 26 million euros in commercial rights, basically, various brands pay Djokovic to star in their ads and display their logos during matches. They pay you to play, not not to play.
The outcome of this soap opera is not yet known and if Djokovic will finally end up going through the hoop to be able to continue working, but his allies are increasingly positioned against him. The best example of this is the Lacoste brand, its main sponsor. Given the controversy that arose in Australia, the French brand has been forced to issue a statement in which it charges harshly against its client. “The Australian authorities canceled Novak Djokovic’s visa. As a consequence, it will not be possible for him to participate in the Australian Open. As soon as possible, we will speak with the player to review what happened in Australia. We wish everyone an excellent tournament and We thank the organizers for all their efforts to ensure that the competition takes place in good conditions for the players, collaborators and spectators,” says the textile company.
The tennis player and the textile company joined forces in 2017 when they signed a contract for 47 million euros for which the Serb pocketed 9.4 million a year. It was signed for five years, but both parties agreed in August 2021 – when the tennis player’s anti-vax stance was popularly known – to extend it until 2025. “His audacity, tenacity and kindness impressed me and I am proud that we can continue our common adventure together.” , said then the CEO of Lacoste.
Lacoste is the first to speak out about the controversy, but it is not Novak Djokovic’s only sponsor, in fact, Forbes magazine points out that he has sponsorship agreements worth 30 million euros per year. Other names that appear on the list are the car manufacturer Peugeot, which did not want to assess what happened, the Swiss watch firm Hublot and the Japanese sportswear giant Asics.
None of the three brands has wanted to comment on the matter yet, but they are experiencing the consequences of their alliance with the tennis player firsthand. Asics shares have plummeted more than 14% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange since January 5, the date on which the Australian authorities detained the tennis player at the airport and decided to cancel his visa. On January 14, the day he is arrested again, Asics shares were left on the floor by more than 4%.
“Personally, I am opposed to vaccination and I would not want someone to force me to get vaccinated in order to travel”
Despite the fact that the controversy has now arisen, Djokovic’s position as an anti-vaxxer is not new. “Personally, I am opposed to vaccination and I would not want someone to force me to get vaccinated in order to travel,” said the tennis player himself in April 2020 when there were months left for the first doses to arrive and the world was experiencing the worst moment of the pandemic.
The withdrawal of advertising contracts would put the icing on the cake for two years marked by problems for the Serbian. In the summer of 2020, he was disqualified from the US Open after hitting the linesman with a ball and a year later, at the Olympic Games, his image became a meme after he lost his temper after failing to get the bronze medal.
Djokovic, who is already in Serbia, has not commented on the possibility of losing his sponsors, although he has been disappointed by Australia’s decision. “I will take some time to rest and recover before making any further comments beyond these. I am extremely disappointed with the ruling to dismiss my application for judicial review of the decision to cancel my visa, which means I cannot stay in Australia and participate in the Australian Open,” he explained in a statement after learning he would be deported.
Other similar controversies
If any of these brands finally decides to suspend their contracts with Djokovic, it would not be the first time that a controversy involving a celebrity ends up leading to the breaking of an advertising contract. It happened in 2009 when several extramarital affairs of the golfer Tiger Woods came to light, which caused brands such as Gatorade, Accenture, AT&T or Gillette to break their contracts with the athletes.
Another athlete who angered his sponsors was Ronaldinho. Coca-Cola broke a contract with the Brazilian in 2012 after he appeared in an interview drinking a Pepsi. This cost him $742,500 a year.
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