A spokesman for Reebok says that the shoe company was never close to a marketing deal with Patriots rookie Brandon Spikes, who is in the midst of a flap over a sexually explicit video that surfaced on the Internet on Tuesday.

Spikes' agent, Terry Watson, told reporters yesterday that Reebok canceled a $60,000 deal because of the video.

"The media reports that Reebok has terminated an endorsement contract with Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes are completely false," company spokesman Dan Sarro said in a statement. "Reebok never had a deal with Brandon. ... We had discussions with Brandon earlier this summer, as we do with many NFL players, but no agreement has been reached and he is not currently under contract with Reebok."