#2 - Texas A&M

The benefits of being a professional athlete are numerous. One of the biggest perks of extraordinary athletic skill is the ability to profit from your name and likeness. Endorsements account for millions of an athlete’s yearly income. In 2010/11 Michael Jordan earned about $60 Million through contracts with companies like Gatorade, Nike, and Hanes. LeBron has made about $40 Million, and Washington Redskins’ rookie dynamo, RG3, has recently signed several deals with Gatorade, EvoShield, and Subway that will earn him millions in revenue. These endorsement deals allow the athletes to earn extra income merely by slapping his name on some merchandise or allowing their likeness to be used in advertisements. Now, if you’re thinking, “I can’t wait to get to college, play my butt off, and sling some number 2 combos for McDonalds,” well you’re in for a huge disappointment. As in the case of Johnny Manziel, lovingly nicknamed “Johnny Football,” your name and likeness belongs to your school and the NCAA, meaning that all revenue earned by the presence and aura of Mr. Football does not belong to him.

Johnny Manziel is no ordinary college sophomore. He also happens to be the 2012 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback of the Texas A&M Aggies. In a very short collegiate career Manziel has achieved a level that few experience. He has been given numerous awards and accolades including SEC Offensive Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year, no easy task. It’s no wonder why his popularity has dramatically increased, and his media exposure expanded. Like in the case of many other athletic superstars this means an increase in fan base that will support them and most likely acquire merchandise directly related to them.

In 2012, Manziel was reportedly worth over $30 million in free media exposure for his potential Alma Mater in addition to the campus bookstore selling out of all replica #2 football jerseys. Now, many will argue that they are selling that particular jersey without using the Manziel brand, though it seems oddly suspicious that their Heisman winning quarterback’s jersey number just so happens to be the number 2.

This scenario is common in the NCAA, but don’t let them catch you profiting off one of their stars’ names or aliases. Manziel’s lawyers have been working to find any instances of infringement on the Johnny Football name since it was trademarked. Among the defendants are multitudes unauthorized vendors selling Johnny Football merchandise. Naturally, without the proper licenses Manziel’s lawyers were able to successfully litigate their way to a payday. The kicker? The NCAA announced that Mr. Manziel could retain any monies won from the lawsuits. Funny how an organization that notoriously profits off it’s athletes’ brands is now saying that any other instance where someone is profiting off a brand without proper compensation, is subject to legal action.

I ask you, where do we go from here? Will the NCAA begin compensating it’s athletes for revenue generated from their brand? I would hope so. I understand not compensating them for ticket sales or any TEAM related merchandise, but when an athlete’s name, nickname, logo, or general brand is used, there should be proper payment, even if it’s placed in a trust to be opened upon the athlete’s graduation. This process may even help teach the athletes on the process of protecting your brand as well as the basics of money management which, if you ask director of 30 for 30’s “Broke” Billy Corben, is a necessity.  

...I bet college football fans figured out who the post was about from the title, without my mentioning the name...Your move NCAA.