Publix supermarket now sponsors Jameis Winston

April 30, 2015; Bessemer, AL, USA; Jameis Winston of Florida State is selected as the number 1 pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2015 NFL draft. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
April 30, 2015; Bessemer, AL, USA; Jameis Winston of Florida State is selected as the number 1 pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2015 NFL draft. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jameis Winston already has an endorsement deal – from the grocery store chain that he stole from. 


Well, that didn’t take long. Jameis Winston has been a Tampa Bay Buccaneer for less than 24 hours and he already has his first awkward moment.

Publix, the grocery store chain where Winston was caught stealing crab legs from a year ago, is the official supermarket sponsor of the Buccaneers, Jameis’ new team, TMZ reports.

Because of course they are.

When Publix realized that they were now tied to Winston – with a four-year contact, no less – the company released a statement.

"“We support our hometown team. We welcome Jameis Winston to the Bucs. We don’t hold any grudge against him.”“We’ve moved forward, we’re past this. We hope Jameis has done the same, and is moving forward,” added a representative from Publix. “Part of our affiliated with the tea is to do the right thing for the community. If Jameis has an idea that would make the community better, [we’d] glad hear out his proposal. This is a great opportunity for him to learn from his mistakes. He’s going to have a chance to do a lot of good now.”"

That is true. Jameis has the opportunity to right his wrongs and we’d bet he will seize the opportunity to make it up to the company he wronged.

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Maybe he could organize a food drive at the Publix closest to the stadium?  Or he could donate a portion of his paycheck to clean up our world’s oceans. Maybe he could organize a fishing trip in the Gulf to replace the crab legs he attempted to steal? So many possibilities.

One wrinkle in this reconciliation plan, though, was Jameis’ decision to post a photo of himself on Instagram, seemingly making light of the incident. On Thursday night, to celebrate getting drafted by the Bucs, Winston posted a picture of himself sitting next to a plate of crab legs.

The picture had been deleted by Friday morning, and it looks like the Bucs made him remove it.

The whole Publix/Jameis thing is sort of an awkward situation but we’re glad that they’re putting it all behind them.

Frankly, we can’t wait to see what Jameis does next.

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