This deal sank like a stone.
Legendary pro wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s $11 million partnership with the US Army was so disastrous that it appears to have actually hindered recruitment efforts for the military branch, according to a report.
The Army is now trying to recoup its money after claiming “The Rock” didn’t hold up his end of the deal by sharing an agreed-upon number of social media posts during the United Football League season, Military.com reported.
The Army declared the relationship as a net negative — with an evaluation projecting that it led to a loss of 38 enlistments as resources tied up in the deal could have potentially been used elsewhere with a more advantageous recruitment outcome, according to an internal review of the plan obtained by the outlet.
The military branch inked a contract with Johnson, a UFL co-owner, earlier this year that would see prominent Army branding on player uniforms and during games, while Johnson acted as a de facto spokesperson for the Army on social media.
With 396 million followers on Instagram, Johnson’s posts were valued by the Army at $1 million each. As part of the agreement, the “Moana” star would share five posts elevating the military branch throughout the UFL’s inaugural season from March through June.
But Johnson allegedly failed to hold up his side of the deal — only sharing two Army-related posts since April, the documents state.
One post showed him surrounded by Army generals and hugging Gen. Randy George, who reportedly pushed the partnership through despite internal concerns that it wouldn’t amount to anything.
“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,” Col. Dave Butler, a spokesperson for George, told Military.com in a statement.
“But we’re working with the UFL to rebalance the contract. The Rock remains a good partner to the Army.”
The documents also pointed to “inexperienced” UFL staff causing numerous breakdowns in communication, leading to the Army to pick up “a significant amount of additional work.”
Army marketing officials ultimately ruled that they have a “lack of confidence” that future deals with the UFL can be successful and are now looking to recoup $6 million of the $11 million deal, according to the documents.
A spokesperson for the Army’s marketing team told Military.com that it is still hammering out with the UFL the final cost.
The United Football League did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The catastrophic partnership comes as the Army is in the midst of a historic recruiting crisis
In 2023, the Army drew roughly 50,000 recruits, far below the objective of around 65,000.
