Maria Sharapova loses millions in advertising contracts

Difficult times have dawned for tennis star Maria Sharapova. Then after being discovered with a drug test, she is now losing millions in advertising contracts. So not only her ego and her reputation, but also her wallet is battered. As one of the biggest tennis stars on the current tennis scene, there are a number of advertising partners who no longer want to work with Maria Sharapova. The 28-year-old can therefore be described as the loser of the month. Because after the doping scandal, Maria was also suspended by the UN. She is not allowed to fulfill her role as a special envoy while the investigations into the Doping allegations have not yet been completed. The fact that Maria Sharapova herself confessed to using meldonium, a substance that is now on the doping index and is therefore prohibited, cannot necessarily help her out of this predicament. The tennis player stated that she had absolutely no knowledge that meldonium was a prohibited substance.

The bitter consequences for Maria Sharapova

Both Nike and Tag Heuer did not hesitate and terminated their collaboration with Maria Sharapova immediately. Maria Sharapova’s contract with Nike alone is said to have brought in a good 11 million euros per year, so that the end of the cooperation means a huge financial setback for the Russian tennis player. Maria had worked with Tag Heuer for 12 years when the group decided to end the joint collaboration. Porsche was also forced to take a similar step. But there are also advertising partners who have not yet said goodbye to Maria Sharapova. Your contracts with Avon, the well-known cosmetics brand, and the water manufacturer Evian remain in place. Bad tongues mean, however, that it is only a matter of time before the tennis player will also lose these contracts. The fact that Nike, Porsche and Tag Heuer parted ways with Maria Sharapova could not only have had something to do with the doping scandal.

Because from a financial point of view, it could well be a smart move on the part of the advertising partners. After all, the end of Maria Sharapova’s career was already in sight. This usually also means that the popularity and thus also the market value of athletes as an advertising figure decrease. Thus, the excuse to part with Maria because of the doping allegations was a hit for the companies, which otherwise would probably have received negative media attention if they had simply dropped Maria Sharapova for no apparent reason at the end of her career despite the long-term business relationship leave. Maria herself will probably not be interested in why her advertising partners have now turned their backs on her.

Because she has to live with the financial losses one way or another and she is no longer allowed to participate in the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil. In a press conference, the sports ace herself admitted that she had made a big mistake and disappointed her fans. She didn’t want to end her career like that, it was also said. It is still further investigated, since the prohibition of meldonium is in fact relatively new and it would be possible that Maria Sharapova really did not know anything about the fatal rule change for her. Incidentally, the Russian woman did not primarily take the preparation to improve her performance. In the past, meldonium was also used in her for a number of health problems.

Photo: Leonard Zhukovsky / Bigstock.com