Lets keep boot deal in perspective say GAA stars
Each will wear Puma boots in this year's championship.
However, despite a pledge to be open and transparent, Puma UK promotional manager Mike Workman refused to confirm speculation on financial packages or length of contract for the six players - football stars Kieran McGeeney, Dara O Cinneide, Trevor Giles and Micheal Donnellan and Kilkenny hurling duo DJ Carey and Henry Shefflin.
It was reported each player got €2,000 for putting pen to paper initially, with €500 for each subsequent promotional appearance.
That was neither confirmed nor denied at yesterday. However, the players are a mixture of the most talented and marketable in the Association.
Puma insisted the deal was breaking the mould, a factual PR spin if only because it is the first time a sportswear company has announced contract agreements with individual players where the athletes will financially benefit from the deal.
The sponsorship, Puma's first direct foray into the GAA market, has given the German sportswear company a foothold to gain county board contracts to develop team jerseys.
Some have already seen adidas' plans for an Irish factory as a venture with a similar goal.
Workman was quick to defend Puma's position, saying: "We have no huge plan to dominate Gaelic sports.
"We have just given an opportunity for some individuals to benefit from wearing our product and we are delighted to be the first company to break the mould in this way.
"We developed a brand positioning strategy for Ireland in the past couple of years that placed particular emphasis on Gaelic football and hurling.
"This deal has been in the pipeline for the past six to nine months and part of our strategy was to decide that Puma would be the first company to take the pro-active step of rewarding players financially with individual contracts."
Workman had informal discussions "as a matter of courtesy" with the GAA before developing the deal but he doesn't see much cause for consternation from within Croke Park.
"We don't see this as going against the ethos of the GAA. We feel this was just an individual choice made by these players. And it would be very petty if we were held to ransom over this."
A Croke Park spokesperson said yesterday that the deal was within the rules of the organisation and although talk in the Burlington Hotel yesterday was of breaking the mould, deals like this have been done in the past, the Marlborough deal three years ago springing to mind.
However, it is the first instance of players endorsing a product and other companies are certain to follow suit. DJ Carey, a long-time advocate of the right for a player to market his own image, believes it is a positive step.
"This is a welcomed development and maybe something like this is overdue," Carey said.
"Hopefully, this will develop. Some people are saying this is elitist. I don't think so.
"Puma are looking to establish a brand within this market and they needed some recognisable faces to do that. I am sure more players will benefit from this strategy in the future."
Although the deal was established without any GPA involvement, Carey was swift to dismiss suggestions it represented a break from the GPA.
"This is a separate issue from the GPA, this is just a deal done with each individual player. Anything we would do, obviously the GPA would look over.
"But that is all. Puma looked at the GAA and looked at the six individuals they wanted to spearhead their campaign."
Although each player was decked from head to toe in Puma gear yesterday, it appears none of the players will have to be seen wearing Puma apparel in any post-match interviews.
As McGeeney said, the Puma King boot had been the favoured brand among GAA players for 20 years, so Workman called the deal a natural step.
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