NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - No matter what baseball Commissioner Bud Selig does, no matter what fans think, Madison Avenue isn't ready to reinstate Pete Rose.

Rose, the former baseball star, is banned from Major League Baseball since his alleged gambling on the game in 1989. He subsequently served time in federal prison on tax charges and is blocked from admission to baseball's Hall of Fame.

But he's remained a fan favorite, winning the loudest ovation at pregame ceremonies at the 1999 and 2002 World Series after fans voted for him as one of the best players of the 20th century, and picked his hits record as one of baseball's most memorable moments.

Despite his popularity, Rose will have trouble landing top ad deals.

That popularity may lead baseball, which is looking to win back disaffected fans, to relent and let him back into the game, although apparently that will only come with an apology and an acknowledgement of wrongdoing by Rose.

But talking to those in the industry, it seems like even with reinstatement, it'll take Rose longer to be accepted again by major league advertisers.

"As a company, why would I take the risk?" said John Antil, associate professor at University of Delaware and an expert on athlete endorsements. "I don't think there's a major advertiser that will take the chance, even if he's reinstated, not unless there's a whole lot of other evidence came out that he never did anything wrong."

Antil and other experts say it is likely that you'll see Rose with some new second- or third-tier campaigns if he is reinstated, though.

Auto painting chain Maaco is one of Rose's only television ad campaigns of recent years.

"He has risk and he has edge, which some companies look for," said David Schwab, director of strategic marketing & media for sports marketing firm Octagon. "Those that will look at him will be companies looking for publicity value, because he generates that."

And Schwab thinks eventually, if Rose performs well in those types of ads and enough time passes, he could eventually move into more traditional ad campaigns.

"How do people perceive him? That's what people are looking for every time they sign a celebrity," said Schwab. "It's not, 'Has he paid his debt to society?' It's how the public perceives him. They'll watch how the public reacts to that."

But convincing risk-adverse advertisers that it's OK turn to back to Rose will take quite a bit of time, if it ever happens.

"The public has forgiven him, but will Madison Ave? It'll be an uphill battle. I think they'll stay away," said Doug Shabelman, senior vice president of Burns Sports & Celebrities Inc., which helps arranges endorsement deals.

One executive with a major advertiser and sports sponsor says that the problem for advertisers is not necessarily Rose's past legal problems.

"It's not really the banned status, it's not controversy per se," said the executive, who spoke on condition his name not be used. "Yes, everyone will want to talk about Pete Rose, but 99 percent of the questions will be about Pete Rose and issue surrounding him. If I want to talk about my peanut butter or my candy bar, it'll be tough."

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Antil said part of Rose's problem is a public perception of arrogance. He has always denied he bet on baseball, despite a mountain of evidence from baseball's investigator that he did place bets while he was manager of the Cincinnati Reds.

That differentiates Rose from some other athletes who had successful endorsement carriers after questions about their gambling. Former NFL star Alex Karras went on to an acting, endorsement and sports broadcasting career despite being suspended for gambling on football during his career.

"Alex Karras was a very likable funny guy who poked fun at himself. Can you see Rose doing that?" said Antil. "A lot of reason for anyone's commercial success is based on looks, personality, and how likeable he comes across for people."

Rose and his agent did not have any comment. Nor did Pony athletic shoes, his only current endorsement deal.

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Auto painting chain Maaco did use him starting in 1999 through March of 2002. An executive there said it was a controversial but successful campaign for the company.

"There was controversy with franchise owners, there was controversy with customers," said Eileen Moran, the company's vice president of advertising. "I got a lot of e-mails both ways. But we got incredible media coverage for the fact we took the chance on him. It was all over every sports talk program, and they were all talking about Maaco."

One of the things that attracted Maaco to Rose was a relative bargain price for his participation in the campaign. She wouldn't disclose the price, although Shabelman said it was a six-figure deal.

"He was in a price range we could afford. That's obviously going to change if he's admitted to the Hall of Fame," said Moran.