In football-speak, it was a false start.
Just days after an Oakland Raiders executive was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle saying the club had hired Apprentice semifinalist Nick Warnock to sell its luxury suites, the team is quickly backpedaling.
Spokesman Artie Gigantino now says that the newspaper report, which was picked up and widely disseminated by the Associated Press, was "premature."
"No deal has been completed," Gigantino told the Chronicle on Tuesday. "The way it was left, Nick was going to fulfill prior commitments and when he was done we'd revisit what the next step was."
The Raiders did not return phone calls seeking comment Wednesday.
But the team apparently fumbled when it came to negotiating with the 27-year-old salesman, who achieved fame as a member of The Apprentice final four--and his showmance with fellow Trump-phile Amy Henry.
In the original Chronicle story, Raiders CEO Amy Trask says she was a huge fan of the hit NBC show and admired Warnock's ability. She called a meeting with the New Jersey native and former Xerox salesman.
"I called someone else in our office equally addicted to the show and told him, 'I want to hire this guy to sell suites,' " Trask said. "At first, he was dubious, but when we saw on his Website that he had a football background [he played high school and college football], it seemed like a great idea.''
Even Nick, who flew to Oakland from his current home base in L.A., seemed to be on board for the part-time gig. "This is one of the greatest organizations in the country," Warnock was quoted as telling the newspaper. "Who hasn't heard of the Raiders, the Autumn Wind, the Silver and Black? It's as recognizable as the Yankees."
But as word hit the wires and airwaves, Warnock quickly quashed the report. He called Fox News to tell them that no deal was done. "I went to Oakland and checked out their organization," he said. "But I am not going to work for them."
By Tuesday, the Raiders were backtracking, too.
Warnock, who is currently selling high-priced ads for the magazine publishing group Niche Media Holdings, is just the latest of Donald Trump's Apprentice victims to parlay his tube time into high-profile offscreen work.
Runner-up Kwame Jackson fielded offers from tech billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and fast-food chain KFC. He is also reportedly working on launching his own entertainment company, Legacy Communications, and trying to raise $2.5 million to produce a documentary on Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden.
And then there's winner Bill Rancic, who is currently overseeing construction of a 90-story hotel in Chicago for the Donald.
Meanwhile, some 250,000 hopefuls have reportedly applied for the next go-round with Trump, with the second season of The Apprentice set to premiere this fall.