Super Bowl Tickets for Five: Acceptable Gift or Possible Bribe?

This critical incident describes a potential ethical dilemma created by an executive of a local restaurant chain. Scott Wise, owner of eight Scotty’s Brewhouse locations in the Indianapolis metro area, had been approached by a Pepsi representative with an attractive financial proposition. Pepsi MAX was the official soft drink of the National Football League and in just a few short weeks Indianapolis would serve as the host city for Super Bowl XLVI. The representative offered him a five-year contract that entailed selling Pepsi products exclusively while offering its products at a cost ten percent less than he had been paying for rival Coca-Cola products. Although Wise was impressed with the contractual terms, he had yet to sign the document. After reviewing the contract for the final time, he thought he might ask the Pepsi representative for one final concession: game tickets for himself and four other individuals. Students are asked to decide what course of action Scott Wise should take in terms of the tickets.