The New Rozelle Rule - Part Three

But free markets are the solution to everything

After 50 years NFL players had finally earned the right to move freely between teams. But the league was quickly becoming a victim of its own success and soon commercial interests would influence decisions on the field in a way never before seen. Curly R's three part series on NFL players' financial and personal freedoms thoughout the years concludes.

Part One: The Reserve Clause and the Rozelle Rule
Part Two: Mackey v. NFL
Part Three: The Reebok Rule

=====

As NFL football has moved from a truly team oriented endeavor, one so focused on the good of the team that the good of the player came second, to collections of individuals all trying to maximize their career and post football earning potential, some personalities naturally will stand out more than others.

And so it was with interest I read on Tuesday at the great Pro Football Talk that despite goofball Bengals receiver Chad Johnson legally changing his name to Chad Ocho Cinco, that does not automatically mean football fans will see the name Ocho Cinco on the back of Chad's jersey. And the most bizarre and outrageous part of this story is that the ultimate arbiter of this matter appears not to be the NFL itself, but rather the NFL's apparel vendor Reebok.

It would appear as though the number of and dollar investment by Reebok in Chad Johnson number 85 jerseys is significant enough that Reebok is now wondering aloud who will pay them for fabricated product that now may or may not be worthless. And Reebok is asking Chad for half a million dollars to buy out the inventory.

The same PFT piece cites former Raiders receiver Jerry Porter having to pay out 210 thousand dollars to change his number from 84 to 81 last season, and this year Bengals rookie linebacker Keith Rivers, a first round pick, had to buy unsold inventory of his jersey number 58 so he could change to 55. A rookie. Who has played one game and received one game check.

As a matter of business sense judging from this list of players with changed numbers for the 2008 season discovered by Matt Terl at the ORB (Official Redskins Blog) it looks like Reebok might have a nice cottage industry here. They make the jerseys and they get paid for them either by you and me or by the players.

I say again an NFL commercial partner has veto power over NFL players and their jersey names and numbers. Think about that for a moment.

As if cynics like me needed any more evidence that the league is not simply a vehicle for corporate interests like Viagra, Budweiser and General Motors but rather completely run by outside corporations.

This is total and complete bullshit, the Reebok apparel contract exists to serve the league and not vice versa. The risk management bean counters at Reebok came up with some number associated with jersey slew rate and the league swallowed it. This must be in the collective bargaining agreement or else we would be reading about the union howling unfair.

And it inordinately affects the star players, for whom there would be larger stocks of jerseys in the commercial channel. And what about player movement? Not only did Jason Taylor switch jerseys from Miami teal to Washington burgundy, he also changed his number from 99 to 55. Andre Carter and Jason Taylor did not switch or make any jersey changes though apparently Andre was open to the idea. I wonder now if Andre was going to demand Jason pay for the unsold jerseys that it sounds like the league would have let Reebok sock Andre with. Ole'!

Who paid for Jason's unsold Dolphins jerseys? The Redskins? The league? Does Reebok eat it if it is official league business like a trade but the player eats it if it is an air quotes vanity decision, like when Sean Taylor switched from number 36 to number 21 after his rookie year?

Let me see if I can get this straight: you achieve your dream and reach the NFL. Through effort you achieve the pinnacle of success, a household name in sports. Through no direct fault or effort of your own many people want to wear your jersey. Your college or high school or previous professional jersey number comes available and you want to wear it. You go to the equipment shop and the nice guy there tells he can't do anything until the league gives the go ahead. Twenty-four hours later the leagues emails your agent and says sure you can switch, make check for half million payable to Reebok and tell us where you want these ten thousand jerseys delivered (actually they probably send them to South America where poor people that don't watch football will get them).

If this is not the most asinine policy I have ever heard of, forcing individual players to pay for the apparel vendor's excess product. And I am doubly pissed because it gives me another reason to sympathize with spoiled rich part time athletes, already always the most popular and most coddled people throughout their whole lives.

The football history of the fighters, the crusaders for player rights: Bill Radovich, John Mackey and ... Ocho Cinco?



Chad Johnson aka Ocho Cinco uncredited image from here.