The U.S. Army’s $11 million sponsorship with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has failed so miserably that the Pentagon is demanding $5 million back from the legendary pro wrestler-turned-actor.
The U.S. Army inked the $11 million advertising deal with Johnson, 52, and the United Football League earlier this year in a desperate bid to recruit more soldiers.
But the high-profile deal was said to be “so catastrophic” that the army reported losing at least 38 enlistments because the time and money could have been used better elsewhere.
The contract required the former WWE star to publish five U.S. Army ads to his Instagram page, according to Military.com.
Each post was valued at $1 million, but Johnson – who has 396 million followers on the platform – only published two.
Colonel Dave Butler said of the mess: “In terms of The Rock, it’s unfortunate he was pulled away at a time when we expected him to be present with us to create content for his social media channels.”
He added: “But we’re working with the UFL to rebalance the contract. The Rock remains a good partner to the Army.”
The Furious 7 actor – who is already worth an estimated $800 million – has not posted anything related to the U.S. Army since April when he shared photos of himself with General Randy George, General James E. Rainey and Command Sergeant Major Brian A. Hester.
He captioned the photos: “Very cool and honored to announce our UFL partnership with the U.S. Army.”
Another post, also from April, consisted of a clip from Johnson’s tour of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland.
