In fact, the vast majority only complete one year of undergraduate coursework and then enter the draft for their chosen sport. More often than not, athletes have no desire to go back to college after their career as a professional athlete is over, yet this is who businesses choose to endorse their product. This strategy is proven to be successful in the promotion and sale of products and services. Two of the National Basketball Association’s biggest icons, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, never attended college; they chose to go straight to the pros. However, these two players have some of the biggest endorsement deals in the NBA. Without any kind of degree or expertise, they endorse products that they have no prior knowledge on and may not even use. For example, LeBron James endorses Samsung phones despite being a loyal iPhone user and Kobe Bryant is a spokesperson for McDonald’s even though he often says he does not eat fast …show more content…
Athletes are not a credible source for the products that they are paid to recommend and, many times, they do not use the products in their everyday lives. Professional players are not experts; they only know what the creators or backers of the merchandise are telling them (typically only good things). If companies wanted a reliable backing or endorsement for their creation they would use experts. Researchers would put in the time necessary and provide data that would either approve or disapprove a product. Instead of relying on what celebrity athletes tell them in the media, consumers need to rise up and ask for the