Corporate Bailouts and the BCS

Those viewership numbers place the BCS Championship in the upper-echelon of TV viewing for the year, making advertising an attractive proposition. And the most attractive advertising position of them all is the title sponsorship. And who was the title sponsor for both the Rose Bowl and the BCS Championship Game? Well, that would be Citi, who has held the title sponsorship of the Rose Bowl since the 2004 game.

The troubling thing about Citi sponsoring both the Rose Bowl and the BCS Championship game is the fact that Citigroup has been one of the largest beneficiaries of TARP (Trouble Asset Relief Program). They have reached numerous complicated and expenses arraignments with the federal government – including an infusion of $45 Billion in late 2008 – in order to shore up their failing business.

Citigroup is the poster child for “too big to fail”, a company so entrenched in the financial sector that even blatant incompetence in financial dealings aren’t enough to destroy the company. It’s a bit disheartening to watch a college football game and see our tax dollars hard at work with the Citi logo splashed all over the TV.

Title sponsorships are not cheap; although official numbers haven’t been released, it’s rumored that a title sponsorship for a regular BCS game – such as the Rose Bowl – is $10-15 million per game. That puts the title sponsorship of the BCS Championship closer to $20 million estimated.

This wouldn’t be the first time that Citigroup has made questionable financial calls after receiving bailout money. Citigroup was embroiled in scandal after receiving that $45 Billion dollars in 2008 and then turning around and handing out hundreds of millions of dollars in bonus to a number of its employees. Each of those decisions – to pay out bonuses and to hold a BCS title sponsorship – have justifications. Bonuses are supposedly paid to retain top-tier talent (the same top-tier talent that drove Citigroup into the ground I assume) and getting 31 million eyes on your company is a tantalizing advertising opportunity. Those are weak justifications as far as I’m concerned though.

The taxpayers gave Citigroup billions of dollars in an effort to help shore up their business, and here we are, a year later and it’s tough to argue that they’re that much better off. Even their proposed TARP repayment, just proposed last month, is very problematic (“U.S. Gave Up Billions…” ~ WaPo). And yet here they are, paying millions of dollars to sponsor the glamorous BCS Championship game.

Michael

Twitter: @michael_dink