Yesterday, Dr. Pepper announced that for the first time ever, it would feature a professional athlete on its bottles. This athlete doesn't come with ripped arms, or muscular legs, but he does have some thumbs of steel. Tom Taylor, who plays Halo 3 professionally (putting in up to 15 hours a day of practice), has not only landed his first endorsement deal with Dr. Pepper, but has also signed a three-year sponsorship contract with Major League Gaming to the tune of $250,000.

New York City-based Major League Gaming organizes teams and professional gamers to compete in tournaments around the country. This year, MLG has over 50 professional teams ready to play, and vie for endorsement deals aimed at the gaming community. I know several other companies that might do well with advertisements targeted at gamers — Cheetos, Mountain Dew, and Domino's (otherwise known as geek fuel), just to name a few. And although I'm sure we wouldn't recognize newly coined gaming celeb Tom Taylor (who goes by Tsquared, natch) if he passed us on the street, he does carry around a Sharpie nonetheless. You know, just in case.

Source