Army demands Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson return millions after promotion deal backfires

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson's deal to promote the US military in exchange for money has backfired.

In accordance with Military.comearlier this year, Army signed an $11 million deal with Johnson's United Football League (UFL).

The agreement said Johnson had to use his social media reach to promote the Army with at least five social media posts.

“The military valued each social media post at $1 million, service documents show, and expected five,” according to Military.com. “But Johnson didn't live up to his end of the deal, making only two of the five social media posts, Army documents show.”

Because Johnson didn't do what he asked, the military now wants $6 million of the $11 million returned.

Army says its $11 million deal with The Rock and the UFL didn't result in a single new recruit

Now they are trying to recover a significant part of their money

(via @Militarydotcom) pic.twitter.com/dbBMjO4cF9

— Culture Crave (@CultureCrave) August 1, 2024

It doesn't help that the few posts Johnson published did nothing to attract recruitment and didn't actually incentivize recruitment.

“The high-dollar, high-profile deal likely did not result in a single new Army recruit and may have had a negative impact on finding new enlistments,” according to Military.com.

“The UFL deal was so catastrophic that it resulted in a projected loss of 38 enlistments, an internal review of the plan shows. Army planners use several metrics to judge whether time and money could be better spent in other efforts, and the service saw the effort and resources invested in the UFL as a net negative for recruiting,” the site noted.

Ideally, the deal should never have gone through, as Army personnel had warned against seeking a partnership with the UFL.

“Service officials said the financial burden was too high and the audience too low, and even the most optimistic estimate showed the association would not yield many recruits,” notes Military.com.

Speaking to the outlet, a senior Army marketing official said the deal had many similarities to another failed deal in which the National Guard had given NASCAR $88 million for recruiting efforts, only to get zero new recruits to join the army.

So why did the UFL deal happen? Because of General Randy George, the Army Chief of Staff, who reportedly pushed for it.

The last time Johnson posted something on Instagram about the military was in April.

The good news for Johnson is that there are no hard feelings.

“In terms of The Rock, it's a shame that he was pulled at a time when we expected him to be present with us to create content for his social media channels,” Col. Dave Butler, spokesman for george a statement “But we are working with the UFL to rebalance the contract. The Rock remains a good partner to the Army.”

Blame for the deal's collapse has been placed in part on the UFL's “inexperienced” staff.

“The UFL's lack of experience in the cross-brand/network relationship was very evident during the planning [the] process and created a significant amount of additional work,” says an internal Army document reviewed by Military.com.

“The internal report added that Army marketing officials have a 'lack of confidence' that future deals with the UFL can succeed,” according to Military.com. “Some military officials also expressed concern behind the scenes that the UFL was not a cost-effective way to reach potential recruits.”

“The UFL deal cost about half what the service spent on the NCAA, but the audience for an average NCAA game is roughly 10 times that of the UFL, according to internal metrics from the military,” the report continued.

In response to the report, critics questioned why the Army got the deal, especially when it is so “cheap” on bonuses.

Look at:

Not even the rock can save the army

— The Human Rebuild (@thehumanrebuild) July 31, 2024

they clearly don't know how to make smart investments. it's time to cut your budget and give those funds to someone who really knows how to get the roi

— Moon Wraith: Professional Cold Defender (@wraithofmoon) August 1, 2024

The Rock gets millions for doing some posts about joining the military. Normal people get to (potentially) go to war zones and run the risk of dying. Damn, I wonder why they didn't get any new recruits….

— ᛘᛅᚦᛁᛅᛋ (@TheDane1105) August 1, 2024

All advertisers deceive their buyers like this. Advertising companies are real fraudsters. I mean what is this if not an 11 million dollar scheme? they could have bought a $40 ad and made more

— High Priority News (@HPNnetwork) August 1, 2024

This really bothers me because the army has a notorious reputation for being cheap when it comes to bonuses.

$11 million divided into $20,000 bonuses would allow 550 soldiers to join.

This is a battalion.

I wouldn't mind so much if Rock gave that $11 million to the people of Maui ‍♂️‍♂️‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/bmlI1oc76u

— RG | Sergeant Sentinel Gaming (@SSGSentinel) August 1, 2024

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