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Here's How Much Ryan Lochte Lost in His Sponsorship Deals Following the Rio Robbery Scanda…

Ryan Lochte didn’t just lose respect after lying about his robbery incident in Rio, he also lost some major financial partnerships.

Speedo USA, Ralph Lauren, Airweave and Syneron Candela all dropped their sponsorship with the U.S. swimmer following his scandal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. 

So how much will this cost him? ESPN reports he’ll lose an estimated $1 million.

Each company released a statement surrounding its decision to drop and/or not renew their contracts with the the 31-year-old, including Speedo—with whom Lochte had maintained a 10-year deal since 2006. The company announced they will donate the last $50,000 from his contract to charity.

“Speedo USA will donate a $50,000 portion of Lochte’s fee to Save The Children, a global charity partner of Speedo USA’s parent company, for children in Brazil,” the company told E! News in a statement on Monday, adding, “While we have enjoyed a winning relationship with Ryan for over a decade and he has been an important member of the Speedo team, we cannot condone behavior that is counter to the values this brand has long stood for.”

Ralph Lauren took the swimmer off their Olympic endorser page and also gave us a statement on Monday.

“Ralph Lauren continues to proudly sponsor the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team and the values that its athletes embody. Ralph Lauren’s endorsement agreement with Ryan Lochte was specifically in support of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and the company will not be renewing his contract.”

Syneron Candela also cut ties with the gold medalist, who began promoting Gentle’s Laser Hair Removal system in April.

“Syneron Candela will be ending its partnership with Ryan Lochte. We hold our employees to high standards, and we expect the same of our business partners,” a representative said in a statement. “We wish Ryan well on his future endeavors and thank him for the time he spent supporting our brand.”

Finally, Airweave (a premium mattress company) released a statement on Monday to E! News as well, explaining their decision to part ways with the athlete.

“Airweave is a proud sponsor of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams and our dedication to athletic achievement is unwavering,” the company said. “Our endorsement agreement with Ryan Lochte was in support of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. After careful consideration, we have made the decision to end our partnership with Ryan Lochte.  We remain committed to supporting Team USA and the athletes preparing for the Paralympic games.”

Ryan Lochte

Matt Hazlett/Getty Images

The loss of endorsements raises red flags for Lochte who needs the sponsorship money to continue training again for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Thus, he’s been working with crisis manager Matthew Hiltzik to repair his public image and salvage any other deals.

However, according to Jonathan Bernstein—president of Bernstein Crisis Management and author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management—it might all be too little too late. “Behavior like this makes sponsors, or potential sponsors, seriously question their relationship with any athlete,” he told us.

But that doesn’t mean it’s entirely over for Lochte.

“You look at other athletes who have done, certainly in their case more embarrassing things, like Lance Armstrong or Tiger Woods, and they paid the price in sponsorships. Lochte has somewhat of a reputation for acting up already, so there’s a crisis risk inherent always in sponsoring a celebrity or a celebrity athlete.”

Thus, Bernstein suggests Lochte moves forward with total honesty and humbleness.

“How he deals with this is going to be more important than the effect of the incident himself,” he told E! News. “If he deals with it humbly, and honestly from this point on, it’ll be a dramatic difference than if he continues to be in denial. The public, particularly the American public, is quite quick to forgive when there appears to be true humility and transparency after a mistake has been made.”



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