October 19, 2008 6:00 pm

12 of the oddest endorsements in sports history

Follow @dcscrap More from Douglas Charles >

The other day I wrote a post over at Epic Carnival about how David Beckham was now endorsing food, fish sticks in particular. Needless to say, I found the endorsement (and his accompanying comments) rather odd. So it got me to thinking, what other endorsements have athletes done that might be a little odd? So I did a little research and here’s what I came up with (in addition to Beckham and his fish sticks, which would be #12)…

1) Wally Joyner for Xocai Healthy Chocolate
… because Wally World knows his damn chocoloate.

2) Vince Young endorses NetSpend Corporation (prepaid debit cards)
… because who doesn’t get their financial advice from a NFL quarterback?

3) Hockey legend Maurice “The Rocket” Richard for Grecian Formula
Because you should always take advice on your grooming habits from an ex-hockey player.

4) Hulk Hogan (and Alf) endorse a phone service
… because I always get my telecommunications advice from wrestlers (and puppets).

5) Hockey analyst Bill Clement for Deep Woods Off!
Might want to cover your eyes.
… because bugs are real pest when playing hockey.

6) Akinori Otsuka endorses Corky’s Pest Control
… because Asian pitchers know their pests??

7) Dan Marino for Isotoner gloves (and weight loss plans, and cars, and …).
… because quarterbacks are so well known for wearing gloves.

8) Michelle Kwan designing a clothing line.
… because who doesn’t want their clothes designed by a figure skater.

9) Carson Palmer endorses hot dogs
… because you really want to see your QB sucking down a long wiener.

10) Swimmer Janet Evans for John Hancock Insurance
… because I want my insurance advice from the really buoyant.

11) Ric Flair Finance?
… because wrestlers are the best people to handle your money.

Obviously there are several more of these that could have been listed (especially those goofy local TV spots we’ve all seen), but finding them is amazingly not that easy unless you specifically know the company and the player. This is where you, my awesome reader, come in… What’s the oddest athlete endorsement you’ve ever seen? Include links when possible!