Footballer turned film actor Vinnie Jones got his giant hands around the necks of Splash News owners Kevin Smith and Gary Morgan after the LA-based agency struck a sponsorship deal with Jones’ “Hollywood Allstars” team.
The deal means that some of Jones’ celebrity friends will soon be stepping out on the pitch wearing the logo of one of the paparazzi agencies which is often snapping them.
Jones said: “I got a real kick out of taking money from the paparazzi… and if they hadn’t paid up I would have been delighted to give them a kick.”
Splash has already bagged one story as a result of the deal when it revealed how Allstars striker Danny Mountain has become a top US porn star after being tipped for soccer stardom with Southampton Football Club.
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Splash co-owner Kevin Smith said: “We had initially looked into Formula One sponsorship or perhaps putting our name to Polo or Premiership football.
“But after some thought we thought Vinnie’s image was far more suitable to our corporate image.”
Smith said they decided to abandon plans to stunt up Vinnie’s famous Paul Gascoigne pose for the promotional pictures.
“Although we’re currently on Vinnie’s good side we didn’t want to push our luck.”
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