How Much Do We Value The Endorsements Of Athletes?

I'm trying to look past Cam Cole's suggestion that Alex Karras as Mongo was anything besides Oscar-worthy, and ponder his greater point that athletes are probably overrated these days as endorsees of products.

Cole is reacting to the "faux controversy" of Jordan Spieth, all-around great guy, endorsing soft drinks laced with chemicals making people less healthy (don't worry, Cole throws Lebron in there too).

Still, he raises an interesting question: how much do we value the opinion of athletes? I would suggest they have a stronger-than-ever influence on young people, and less influence than ever over adults. But that's just a hunch.

We’re smarter than that now. But guess what? They’re still selling, and we’re still buying but it’s not as though we are, or ever have been, powerless in the equation.

Professional sports would be lost without beer advertising. Does it work? Maybe, on some.

McDonald’s might as well be a title sponsor of the Olympics, so ubiquitous is its presence at the quadrennial festivals that are supposed to celebrate glowing health and athletic excellence. And at every Games, athletes have been lined up alongside reporters to eat quarter-pounders and chicken nuggets and fries. We’ll all go straight to Hell.

Pro players endorsing junk food and sugary drinks are so commonplace these days, whole studies are being done on the horrible message being sent, and granted, no one ever lost money betting on the suggestibility of consumers when celebrities are talking up a product’s virtues.

So maybe Spieth will see the light one day, when the time comes to re-up with Coke or go in a different direction.

Taking this beyond the hot-button issue of soft drinks, I'm curious how much you value tour player endorsements of clubs? One of the more eye-opening episodes this summer saw Jason Day seemingly driving the ball longer and straighter than anyone has since Greg Norman in his prime and Taylor Made actually losing (for a time) its lead in driver sales. Maybe just a statistical blip, but worth noting. Taylor Made has since regained its top spot, but is Day's play something driving that? Can I ask any more rhetorical questions?