Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason said he was flattered, not embarrassed, to be featured in a national advertising campaign for underwear. The ads for Hanes are to run this summer and fall nationwide in print and television ads. The television commercials show the 28-year-old quarterback in briefs only, while the print ads show him in briefs and T-shirt.
''My first reaction to all this was that I was very flattered,'' Esiason said. ''It was a little embarrassing at times, sitting around on the set for two days in just briefs while the ads were being shot. But they`re done in very good taste, and on the whole it was a very enjoyable experience.''
"Right before the Super Bowl, {senior vice president} David Falk calls me and says, 'Boomer, I think there's the possibility of an underwear ad you'd want to be in,' " Esiason said. It was Hanes, and Esiason would be the new Jim Palmer, of sorts. He had never worked out in the offseason as a pro, but hit the gym for some sit-ups and pull-ups to lose 15 pounds. "You're sitting around {in a New York studio} in your drawers on a set for two days with 35 people and you don't know who the hell they are," he said. "Some strange woman comes over and says, 'I've got to put this makeup inside your thigh, and a little here on your nipple.' " 
