US Army Teamed Up With the Rock. It Didn't Go Well

The US Army's $11 million investment involving Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson and the United Football League not only didn't go as planned—it backfired "spectacularly," per the Daily Beast, which notes that attempts to draw in new recruits may have actually hurt those recruitment efforts. Military.com reviewed internal documents and emails regarding the arrangement, arrived at earlier this year with the UFL, which is owned by Johnson, who was supposed to bolster the deal as an ambassador of sorts.

However, some Army staffers were wary, noting that UFL viewership wasn't high enough to justify the cost, and Military.com now says the whole thing turned out to be "catastrophic," with an internal review showing the deal didn't lead to a single recruit. Not only that, but the arrangement may have actually led to a loss of 38 enlistments, leading to the Army now wanting about $6 million of its money back, according to documents. Front Office Sports notes it's not clear how the Army came up with the recruitment loss number.

Johnson himself was supposed to make at least five social media posts promoting the Army, but he only ended up posting two, the documents show. One internal Army document pointed the finger at "inexperienced" UFL staff for communications snafus, though it appears the Army isn't taking out their frustrations on Johnson. "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 Gen. Randy George, the Army's chief of staff, says in a statement. "But we're working with the UFL to rebalance the contract. The Rock remains a good partner to the Army." (More US Army stories.)