Colin Kaepernick Wears Beats Headphones Again, Covers Logo With Tape
By Cory Buck
Colin Kaepernick once again wore his Beats by Dre headphones, but this time taped over the logo.
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Despite being levied a $10,000 fine for doing it last week, Colin Kaepernick once again wore his favorite headphones for the post-game press conference after his San Francisco 49ers beat the St. Louis Rams 31-17 on Monday Night Football.
His only concession this time around? He taped over the Beats logo in order to potentially avoid another fine.
This act will still likely incur the wrath of the NFL as players are urged to wear only corporate-sponsored items when on camera, and Kaepernick is one of several NFL quarterbacks to refuse to comply. The Washington Post reports that Panthers QB Cam Newton and Patriots QB Tom Brady have also sported Beats headphones.
At this point, it’s hard to tell whether this is about players defying the NFL or Beats waging a war of public visibility. If it’s the latter, credit Beats for the brilliant marketing plan. Here we are weeks after the NFL signed its exclusive deal with Bose and no one is talking about Bose. Instead, everyone is debating the place of Beats atop NFL players’ heads.
Colin Kaepernick had been previously fined $10,000 for wearing Beats headphones after a game, but he wouldn’t disclose who ended up paying the fine between himself and Beats. How much would the company pay for an advertisement featuring Colin Kaepernick to begin with? One would have to assume it would cost well over ten grand.
It’s entirely possible that Beats decided it was more worthwhile to have an NFL player defy his boss and wear the headphones, then pay the player’s ensuing fine and soak up the PR from the stories that follow in the process. That might actually be a more cost-effective way for Beats to advertise their brand than to film and run a commercial.
Although, the commercials will be sorely missed, as they were some of the better ads put together by any partner of the NFL.
Let’s have a look at just a few examples of this.