from Patrick Rishe at Forbes,

On July 9th of 2014, Patrick Kane signed an 8-year $84 million extension to remain with the Chicago Blackhawks, hockey’s best franchise recently with 3 Stanley Cup victories in 6 years. This included a $44 million signing bonus.

That said, we can understand why Kane may not be all that concerned with losing millions in endorsements as a result of public perceptions regarding his off-ice behavior.

However, if these latest allegations are true, both Kane and the Blackhawks will find themselves in a most precarious position.

And even if innocent, the unfortunate connection to this type of story completely ruins his earnings ability as a product endorser.

Kane is facing allegations of raping a woman who came to his home in suburban Buffalo on August 2nd after a night out on the town. Though the investigation into the matter is ongoing, the mere allegations were enough to prompt EA Sports to pull Kane from their EA Sports NHL 2016 cover (now Kane’s teammate and team captain, Jonathan Toews, graces the cover alone).

Furthermore, other companies with whom he represents (Bauer Hockey, McDonald’s) are closely monitoring the current situation as they decide on whether to keep ties with Kane.

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