On Sunday night, the Super Bowl LVIII FanDuel ad featuring the late Carl Weathers was adjusted to reflect the actor’s death and included a touching on-screen tribute to him.
Shortly after Weathers tells co-star Rob Gronkowski in the revamped ad, “You gave us your all, Gronk,” a graphic on the screen reads, “Thank you, Carl 1948-2024.” was read aloud.
Weathers, best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies, died “peacefully in his sleep” on February 1 at the age of 76, his family said in a statement to Deadline. .
According to the death certificate, he died of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
A previously released ad teaser for FanDuel showed Weathers as an Apollo Creed-type coach helping NFL legend Gronkowski prepare for FanDuel’s “Kick of Destiny 2” event.
somewhere else 30 seconds of FanDuel teasea distraught Gronk is walking alone in the desert when Weathers stops his bike and urges him to continue practicing his kicks.
“And this time you can’t miss it,” Weathers tells him. “Get in.”
This will be the second consecutive year that Gronkowski, a four-time Super Bowl champion and tight end for the New England Patriots, will attempt to kick a field goal in Sunday’s Super Bowl. In total, fans who bet on FanDuel’s sportsbook had a chance to win $10 million.
Last year, he missed a 25-yard field goal “Kick of Fate” that was broadcast live during the Super Bowl. He also missed a kick Sunday night.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Carl Weathers,” a FanDuel spokesperson told The Post in a statement on February 2nd. “Throughout his life, Karl was an iconic talent who had a profound impact on those for whom he worked” on and off screen. ”
“Fanduel was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with him during the Super Bowl campaign,” the statement concluded. “We are tailoring our campaign accordingly in honor of the grieving families.”
according to variety, FanDuel has made some changes to its ad following Weathers’ untimely death and announced that Weathers will continue to appear..
Andrew Sneyd, FanDuel’s executive vice president of marketing, told the magazine that FanDuel intends to make “appropriate” changes to the commercial after consulting with Weathers survivors. “The family has been very supportive and still wants to see Carl in the production,” Sneed said.
But Snide explained that the way the two versions of the commercial were edited was not appropriate in the wake of Weathers’ death.
“We’ve built a master. One is if he makes a kick, we’ll edit, and if he misses, we’ll edit,” he said. “The content contained in those masters is no longer suitable for further action.
“Since news of Carl’s death arrived, we have been working with our editors to help restore meaning.”
He added that FanDuel has communicated with the Weathers family to make sure they are “comfortable.”
“We watched the edit with tears in our eyes,” Snead told Variety. “We really enjoyed the short time we got to work with him. He was a great guy, really inspirational, and had a really positive outlook on the world.” We want to treat this moment with the respect it deserves.”
A college football star at San Diego State University, Weathers played two years (1970-1971) as a linebacker/safety for the NFL’s Oakland Raiders.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in theater from San Francisco State University. He turned to acting and starred in a number of 1970s television shows (Good Times, Cannon, Kung Fu) before landing a major role as Apollo Creed opposite Sylvester Stallone in Rocky. ”, “Starsky & Hutch”, etc.). ”, “Rocky II”, “Rocky III”, and “Rocky IV”.
He also appeared in Adam Sandler’s “Happy Gilmore” and “Little Nicky.”
He continued to appear in films and television, including appearances on Arrested Development, The Shield, the Fox sitcom Brothers, and two episodes of The Mandalorian in 2019. He played the role of Greef Karga.
