If I didn’t make the context clear enough in my post yesterday about Scott Frost and Nebraska’s move to help its athletes market themselves, allow The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach to spell it out for you ($$).
As the biggest sports brand in a state without any professional franchises, the Huskers are uniquely positioned to profit off of the coming legislative changes; a star receiver in Lincoln won’t be competing against NBA players for endorsements and sponsorships to the extent he might in Los Angeles or Miami. And they aren’t alone. Auburn and Alabama share a state without professional sports, too, with rabid fan bases focused on the only game(s) in town. Iowa has no professional sports teams, either, and it’s not hard to imagine local companies falling all over each other to sponsor the latest, greatest Hawkeye tight end. And those are just some of the more extreme examples of colleges located a considerable trek from the nearest big-league franchise.
What’s the over/under on the number of staffers Saban’s already got working on this?
Get The Picture 
Pfffff, Mercedes-Benz of Tuscaloosa has all the sweet, sweet NLI lucre Nick will need….
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Good point. So, we need a rule that coaches cannot pay athletes on their own teams now. That does muddy the water doesn’t it? Of course, given the lack of tenure at most schools only a few coaches would have time to buy/develop a business that needed promotion before they moved on down the road. Little Nick has been there a long time but will he make it long enough to incorporate a personal ad campaign contract into his recruiting pitch.
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Georgia doesn’t have a professional football team either. They just have the Falcons.
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Sure, why not start an acting career in Omaha when there’s so much competition in Los Angeles?
Scott Frost might have a captive market but it’s a very small market wtth less than 2M residents.
Using UGA as a example, professional teams in Atlanta have never hurt exposure for UGA football players. They are under a magnifying glass. The media covers them the same and probably more than some.
Potential market size and opportunity play into it. 75% of the potential market in Nebraska by population would amount to about less that 14% of the total market in Georgia, with a national media hub in Atlanta. A captive audience of not much in a rural farming state isn’t a great selling point no matter how Frost spins it. Demographics, recruiting rule changes, and national media coverage have relegated Nebraska to the backwaters of the B1G and that isn’t going to change anytime soon. You don’t go to the boondocks to build your brand.
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Not every recruit is destined to be a media star. Your average player isn’t looking for an acting career. But he’d be thrilled with an autograph session at a local car dealership that pays him a grand or two. For that, Lincoln would do just fine.
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Your point is taken but there are a lot more car dealerships in the Athens and the short jump to metro Atlanta than the Nebraska. Not to mention bars, restaurants and never ending local events and festivals.
As compared to the Falcons, when we take Ryan’s and Julio’s out of the equation and start talking about the average Joe NFL players, I’d be willing to bet that more people in Georgia would recognize the names of the 2 deep OL for UGA than the guys playing for the Falcons.
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