Pentagon Demands ‘The Rock’ Return $5M in Sponsorship — Amid Claims Deal Didn't Lead to One Single New Recruit
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson owes the U.S. Army $5million after breaking part of a larger $11million deal with the Pentagon.
July 31 2024, Published 4:26 p.m. ET
The U.S. Army’s $11 million sponsorship with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has failed so miserably that the Pentagon is demanding $5 million back from the legendary pro wrestler-turned-actor.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the U.S. Army inked the $11 million advertising deal with Johnson, 52, and the United Football League earlier this year in a desperate bid to recruit more soldiers.
Johnson, 52, agreed to publish five Instagram posts promoting the U.S. Army in exchange for $5million.
But the high-profile deal was said to be “so catastrophic” that the army reported losing at least 38 enlistments because the time and money could have been used better elsewhere.
The contract required the former WWE star to publish five U.S. Army ads to his Instagram page, according to Military.com.
Each post was valued at $1 million, but Johnson – who has 396 million followers on the platform – only published two.
Colonel Dave Butler said of the mess: “In terms of The Rock, it’s unfortunate he was pulled away at a time when we expected him to be present with us to create content for his social media channels.”
He added: “But we're working with the UFL to rebalance the contract. The Rock remains a good partner to the Army.”
The Furious 7 actor – who is already worth an estimated $800 million – has not posted anything related to the U.S. Army since April when he shared photos of himself with General Randy George, General James E. Rainey and Command Sergeant Major Brian A. Hester.
He captioned the photos: “Very cool and honored to announce our UFL partnership with the U.S. Army.”
Another post, also from April, consisted of a clip from Johnson’s tour of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland.
The Moana voice actor captioned that post: “A life changing day of spending time with our soldiers at Walter Reed Military Hospital. I will always support and fight for you and always have your backs – as you always have ours.”
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The UFL, an NFL competitor co-owned by Johnson, had also reportedly agreed to place military ads during games and on its players’ uniforms as part of the $11 million agreement.
Army documents connected to the high-dollar contract blamed the “inexperienced” UFL for the breakdown of the monumental deal.
Johnson, who is worth an estimated $800million, only posted two of the five Instagram posts he agreed to share as part of the deal.
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One document read: “UFL lack of experience liaising between brand/networks was very apparent during planning process and created a significant amount of additional work.”
Another document found the Pentagon is seeking to recover $5 million from its deal with Johnson plus another $6 million from its deal with the UFL to recoup its initial $11 million investment.
Laura DeFrancisco, a spokesperson for the Army's marketing team, said: “We are in the process of working with the UFL to determine the final cost.”
The U.S. Army’s muddled deal with Johnson and the UFL would not be the first time the Pentagon committed millions of dollars to a failed marketing campaign.
The National Guard sponsored NASCAR in 2011 and spent $88 million for a deal that, like this latest agreement, did not lead to one single new recruit.
RadarOnline.com has reached out to Johnson’s team for comment.
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