Manziel Autograph Case Could Be Can Of Worms, Other Huge College Football Names Attached
That’s “huge” as in the biggest names in all of college football, perhaps even the top four Heisman candidates for the 2013 season. Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M, Teddy Bridgewater of Louisville, Braxton Miller of Ohio State, and Jadeveon Clowney of South Carolina all have signed memorabilia listed for sale on eBay under the same seller, the_hub_collectibles — a top-rated seller with 100% feedback in the past 12 months.
the_hub_collectibles currently has:
- 18 items for sale signed by Johnny Manziel
- 11 items for sale signed by Teddy Bridgewater (sick name, by the way)
- 4 items for sale signed by Braxton Miller
- 19 items for sale signed by Jadeveon Clowney
…with many, many more items previously sold by the above players, among others. All have been verified as authentic by PSA/DNA, an accredited sports memorabilia authenticator.
Now for the million dollar question: what does all this mean? It’s hard to say, actually. Amateur college football players are absolutely allowed to sign autographs, as long as they’re not compensated for them (a whole different topic on a different day, perhaps). It is technically possible that this eBay power seller is accumulating these hundreds upon hundreds of signed items by college football’s biggest stars, and doing so without paying them or their “handlers.” Is it likely? That’s for you to decide. And for the NCAA to decide and subsequently initiate a plan of action.
There also exists the possibility that no one testifies against the players. As it stands, no actual proof exists that money was exchanged to improper hands, and that will remain true until someone goes on record with the NCAA, if that even occurs. My guess? Someone with damning information is holding out for a big pay day, and when they agree on terms with an outlet, they’ll be shouting from rooftops. Then, of course, it’ll be up to the NCAA on how to respond. It’d be a sad day for college football to see these names sidelined over autographs.
People are taking notice, though.
Asked SoCar SID abt today's Clowney story:"Our compliance folks are aware of it. We haven't had an indication that there's been a violation"
— Bruce Feldman (@BFeldmanCBS) August 7, 2013
Huge credit goes to Busted Coverage for following this development and gathering the pertinent information.
[via Busted Coverage]
Images via eBay
It’s like blue mountain state all over again.
13 years ago at 2:46 pmBama’s third championship in a row wouldn’t feel the same if they didn’t have to go through Manziel to earn it
13 years ago at 3:32 pmShould players be able to profit off their own name? I think so. But still rules are rules. Maybe this will be the push to get them changed but I’m not sure it’d be fair to people who have been punished in the past if these guys get off the hook.
13 years ago at 3:34 pmThanks Obama
13 years ago at 3:35 pmQuoting a soundclip that my (Insert Riley Cooper slang here), Wale, once included in the song song, Varsity Blues, “We have this multi-billion dollar collegiate sports industry, we have to figure out a way to fairly compensate those who are fueling that industry. Like Bernie said, what a great business model, you make billions, oh and by the way, you don’t have to pay the employees anything.”
13 years ago at 5:45 pmSong* Laced.
13 years ago at 5:46 pmLiberalism is a mental disorder
13 years ago at 9:13 pmSeeing that the people accused of doing this are the ones who I was mentioning, and you were referring to, I don’t see how that is relevant.
13 years ago at 5:52 pm