"He said, 'Uh, George, you're making all these other companies wealthy," Foreman said. "Why don't you get your own product?"
But Foreman's initial reaction, even without trying the grill, wasn't positive.
"I looked at it and said, 'I'm not interested in toys," Foreman said.
Six months later, Foreman had not tried the grill. His wife Mary finally did.
"I told him I tried that grill," she said. "I really love that grill and it was easy for me because having a bunch of kids you just put the stuff on there — and especially children love grilled cheese sandwiches."
Foreman wasn't sold yet. Until his wife made him a burger on it.
"The grease, everything went away and the meat was delicious," Foreman said. "So I called my partners back and said, 'I'm going to do that deal.'"
The deal wasn't that compelling from a monetary standpoint. It provided that there would be no up front guarantees but, after expenses, Foreman would get 45 percent of profits, while Perlmutter and another partner would get 15 percent.