Athletes and product endorsements have enjoyed a long marriage. Why? Because the checks cash, and products need a face. Some athletes make fine pitchmen, but others are painfully awkward.

Just ask former New York Giant Michael Strahan, who has joined the ranks of awkward athlete endorsers with a new series of ads for Vaseline Men products. According to the Vaseline ads, Strahan has been so busy since his retirement from the NFL that now he's forced to hurdle hand towels during 15-minute workouts in hotel rooms in order to keep fit.

Awkward promotions take on a range of forms. Some ads put athletes in completely implausible scenarios. Others, like a new ad with Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, pair athletes with random products and misspell the player's nickname.

And then there are ads that are retroactively awkward, like Accenture's now-defunct campaign starring Tiger Woods urging its clients to "Go on, be a Tiger."

For your entertainment (but mostly our own), we've compiled clips of the best awkward athlete advertisements on the next page.

Rafael Palmeiro -- Coca-Cola
Palmeiro is infamous for a Viagra spot, but here's an awkward gem from 1992. The ad leads to many questions, namely, why does Palmeiro show up in full uniform at a Little League ballpark? Despite the confusion, one thing is sure: Raffy had one of the finest mustache/mullet combinations of the '90s.

Joe Namath -- Beautymist
The longtime Wiz pitchman has delivered glowing endorsements well beyond his retirement from professional football. But in his heyday, Namath peddled anything from Noxzema to Brut using less than subtle sexual innuendo. But this ad for pantyhose is Namath's "finest."

Andre Agassi -- Canon Rebel
A younger, Zack Morris–looking Andre, who may or may not be on crystal meth, practices tennis shirtless in American national parks, sporting his classic mullet look. Need we say more?

Hulk Hogan -- Big Flow
In this Japanese air-conditioner spot, Hulk hums, sings and swings his arms in front of a backdrop of clouds. And then a baby appears.

Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez -- Airless Water Valve
Four-time World Series champ El Duque commands you to "Save money now!" on your water bill. Then he disappears.

Dan Marino -- Blockbuster
Apparently Dan Marino spent some time off from rehabilitating his injured leg one season by hogging a video game from his kid. Brett Favre may be annoyingly wishy-washy, but at least he can act.

Bernie Kosar -- Georgio's Pizza
Watch as Bernie awkwardly holds and flips a pie named after him, and then awkwardly high-fives a real employee. It gets even worse when Bernie takes the wheel of a red sedan and tries to excite you for the chance to have him personally deliver one of the pies.

Alex Ovechkin -- Eastern Motors
Ovechkin realizes midway through this local Washington, D.C., ad that he can't act or sing. So he calls for vodka.

Michael Jordan -- Hanes
Pairing a Hall of Fame NBA player with Cuba Gooding Jr., who peaked with 1996's "Jerry Maguire," is strange enough, but this ad's very premise -- "I'm wearing your underwear!" -- is the awkward part.

Mike Ditka, Jim McMahon, William "Refrigerator" Perry and Dennis Rodman -- Silestone
Not even poorly delivered lines by the '85 Bears will prepare you for Rodman's appearance.

And for those of you wondering -- no, we didn't forget about the godfather of all awkward endorsements, Major League superstar Fred McGriff's long-running campaign for Tom Emanski's defensive drills video. But we can't find a clip of the video anywhere. Help us out in the comments.