NFL Advertisers Making Their Displeasure Known About Scandals

NFL advertisers are now weighing in on the league's recent scandals, most significantly, the response to Ray Rice's beating of his then-fiancee and to Adrian Peterson's abuse charge for hitting his four-year-old son with a wooden switch.

Anheuser-Busch and McDonald's both said yesterday (September 16th) that they'd spoken to the NFL about their concerns, with Anheuser-Busch saying it was, quote, "disappointed and increasingly concerned," and McDonald's saying, "we expect [the NFL] to take strong and necessary actions to address these issues."

Visa and Campbell Soup say they've expressed similar concerns, and Radisson Hotels on Monday pulled its sponsorship for the Minnesota Vikings for reinstating Peterson while his abuse case is ongoing.

No companies have pulled sponsorships or advertising so far.

The NFL said yesterday in response to the sponsors' statement, "We understand. We are taking action and there will be much more to come."

Also yesterday, Procter & Gamble responded to a fake CoverGirl NFL ad showing a woman with a black eye that went viral. On its CoverGirl Facebook page, the company said, "domestic violence is completely unacceptable," and that it's, quote, "encouraged the NFL to take swift action on their path forward to address the issue of domestic violence."