No doubt you’re aware that Manziel currently has no affiliation with a football team. That doesn’t seem to have limited his ability to earn something off his name.
The former Texas A&M quarterback signed an endorsement deal with Nike that spokesman KeJuan Wilkins confirmed to ESPN.com on Thursday night.
Manziel will wear Nike gear and appear in marketing campaigns for the global apparel and shoe manufacturer, Wilkins told the network. No contract details were announced, but ESPN reported that the deal is for multiple years and will be the largest Nike contract for a rookie in the 2014 draft class.
I doubt Nike is planning to restrict promoting him to the College Station market. So can we take a moment to concede that at least for some players, the NCAA’s amateurism mandate acts as a bar to earning compensation for the use of one’s name or likeness? And that at least some of that market value is derived from a source other than a school’s name on a jersey? That hardly seems like rocket science.
The hard part is understanding why that’s fair.