It was revealed Tuesday that AEW has a “productivity drink” sponsor in a deal that has apparently been in place for quite some time.
The contract is with Maryland-based and U.S. veteran-owned idrinq who announced the deal on social media. In their post, it stated idrinq will be featured on AEW TV and “several” pay-per-view events with “premiere logo placement” in the ring and on the broadcast. They stated “AEW talent will also play a part in the AEW/idrinq journey.”
AEW/idrinq contract details & discrepancies
According to CEO Norbert Vergez’s personal website in a post date April 8, 2025, the marketing and promotion deal became effective in October 2024 and is for three years and $3,575,000.
In that same post, Vergez also noted that in January 2025, “Idrinq content shall exclusively air on the TNT and TBS television networks as part of the weekly, Saturday night “AEW Collision” broadcast. For years 2 and 3; Idrinq exclusivity shall extend to the weekly “AEW Dynamite” television broadcasts.“
It’s unclear why it took nearly eight months for the announcement to be made, why it didn’t begin in January as Vergez stated, and if the dates he listed had changed or were incorrect.
An inquiry has gone out to both Vergez and AEW to get clarification.
Here is what Vergez stated in that April post that idrinq would receive from AEW:
- Access to over 19,000 + doors for “Direct-On-The-Shelf” Idrinq sales in the USA (Jan 25).
- Weekly Live-TV Viewership with 97-million subscribers (WBD); AEW2.2-milllion per live-television broadcast.
- Co-presenting sponsor of International AEW “PAY-PER-VIEW” events.
- Use of AEW/WBD in-house production teams for digital signage, merchandise material, product placement and graphics design for use by Idrinq C-store partners.
- Access to 220 contract wrestlers with over 137-million followers.
- Match Sponsorship, Product Placement at Announcer’s Desk, and Announcer Voice Over’s with lower third graphics.
- Idrinq Logo inclusion in partner’s section of AEW Website.
As of this writing, AEW has yet to formally announce the deal.
Vergez, a retired Colonel in the U.S. Army, was in the news in April 2015 for pleading guilty “for criminal misconduct arising from his duties associated with various helicopter procurement contracts at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville (Alabama),” according to the U.S. Justice department’s website. In April 2016, he was sentenced to five years probation, a $10,000 fine, and eight months home confinement. He became idrinq CEO in August 2023.
AEW did famously have Ric Flair’s Wooooo! Energy as the “official energy drink” of AEW in October 2023 in a multi-year deal that brought the WWE Hall of Famer to the promotion. The deal then quietly went away in the spring/summer of 2024 without explanation.
