Great find Helen!
Jerry From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Helen Huntley Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2010 8:56 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [gatornews] The Making of Brand Tebow The Making of Brand Tebow . 3Comments . <http://www.fanhouse.com/2010/04/30/the-making-of-brand-tebow/#cmtForm> Say Something > 4/30/2010 1:23 PM ET By <http://www.fanhouse.com/staff/jon-weinbach/> Jon Weinbach <http://www.fanhouse.com/2010/04/30/the-making-of-brand-tebow/> PrintAText Size <http://www.fanhouse.com/2010/04/30/the-making-of-brand-tebow/> Email <http://www.fanhouse.com/2010/04/30/the-making-of-brand-tebow/> More . o Jon Weinbach o Sports Business Writer <http://www.blogcdn.com/www.fanhouse.com/media/2010/04/tebow-420-43010-12726 35037.jpg> Even in an era when pro athletes have become one-word brands -- Tiger, LeBron, Beckham -- few jocks have ever hit the marketplace quite like <http://nfl.fanhouse.com/players/tim-tebow/24000> Tim Tebow. The 22-year-old quarterback, who won a Heisman Trophy and two national championships at the University of Florida, has generated a stunning amount of buzz since he was picked by the <http://nfl.fanhouse.com/team/denver-broncos> Denver Broncos in the first round of last week's NFL Draft. On NFL.com, sales of his jersey set a record for rookies, topping the mark set last year by <http://nfl.fanhouse.com/team/new-york-jets> New York Jets QB <http://nfl.fanhouse.com/players/mark-sanchez/9269> Mark Sanchez. The <http://nfl.fanhouse.com/team/jacksonville-jaguars> Jacksonville Jaguars, who had the NFL's third-worst attendance last season, announced a "significant" uptick in ticket sales for the team's season-opener against Denver -- even though Tebow is unlikely to start (or play for that matter) for the <http://nfl.fanhouse.com/team/denver-broncos> Broncos. Over the last month, he's been one of the top 30 "trending topics" on Wikipedia, and prior to the draft, he signed lucrative deals with Nike and Electronic Arts, which will feature him on the cover of all versions of its "NCAA Football '11" video game. While Tebow is hardly the first NFL rookie to ink a shoe contract, he is a unique entity in today's sports business. Thanks to his record-setting college career, his draft-day drama, and his religious activism, he is already one of the most popular -- and polarizing -- athletes in America. Among sports fans, his "Q Score" - a measurement of familiarity and positive appeal -- is roughly the same as <http://nfl.fanhouse.com/team/new-england-patriots> New England Patriots star <http://nfl.fanhouse.com/players/tom-brady/5228> Tom Brady and <http://mlb.fanhouse.com/team/stl-cardinals> St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, according to Henry Schafer, executive vice-president of Marketing Evaluations, Inc., which collects the data. "He's already left such an impression on so many people, so his marketability is unusual for a player of his age," says Tom Goedde, vice-president of marketing for EA Sports. For the last few years, EA used several players to advertise the multiple versions of its college football game -- one athlete for the Playstation 3 edition, another for the Xbox, and so on. For the 2011 title, however, the company is throwing all of its marketing weight behind Tebow, whose relationship with EA dates back to high school, when he participated in an All-Star camp sponsored by the company. "There's certainly something different about him," adds Goedde. To be sure, few athletes can match Tebow's back story -- or his knack for getting into the spotlight. He was born in the Phillippines, the son of evangelical Christian missionaries. After the family moved to Florida, Tebow was home-schooled by his mother all the way through high school. A change in state law allowed him to play sports for schools in the local district, and Tebow and his mother actually moved into an apartment, apart from the rest of the family, so he could play for Nease High School in suburban Jacksonville. He thrived on the field, was named Florida's "Mr. Football" as a senior, and was coveted by several SEC schools. He also got his first taste of national media exposure when ESPN featured him in a documentary about top high school athletes. (The name of Tebow's segment: "The Chosen One.") At Florida, Tebow enjoyed one of the greatest careers in college football history. He was the first sophomore to win the Heisman, led the Gators to the national championship as a junior, and ran for the most touchdowns in Southeastern Conference history. He also made a habit of writing biblical verses -- such as "John 3:16" --- on his eyeblack, which gave even wider play to his religious beliefs. Earlier this year, the NCAA banned players from writing any words, messages or symbol on eyeblack -- a decision many college observers quickly dubbed "The Tebow Rule." During college, he also traveled extensively through Asia to visit ill children and do volunteer work with his father, who founded an orphanage in the Phillippines. In interviews, Tebow has often discussed his opposition to pre-marital sex and abortions. He even refused to accept a spot on Playboy Magazine's preseason All-America team. "Almost every other college kid would have jumped at the offer, but that's not what he stands for," says Angel Gonzalez, a long-time friend of Tebow's who now helps negotiate his marketing deals and run his charity. Tim Tebow <http://www.blogcdn.com/www.fanhouse.com/media/2010/04/gator-420-43010.jpg> Tebow's activism came under fire earlier this year, when he and his mother appeared in a <http://nfl.fanhouse.com/superbowl> Super Bowl pregame commercial for Focus on the Family, a right-to-life organization based in Colorado. (They were not paid for the spot, according to Gonzalez.) "I don't think there's been a football player who's come into the league like him in a long time," says Schafer of Marketing Evaluations. In the wake of the Tiger Woods scandal, "advertisers may still be wary of the controversy about [Tebow's] stance on abortion - it could be a drawback or a benefit, depending on the company." Tebow hired Jimmy Sexton, a well-known football agent, to handle his NFL contract work, but his endorsement deals are being coordinated by his older brother Robby and Gonzalez, a 29-year-old former banker whose family owns a heavy-machinery export company in south Florida. Neither has any prior experience in the sports industry, Nonetheless, they have already formed a company, XV Enterprises LLC -- the name is a play on Tebow's No. 15 jersey -- to handle the quarterback's marketing portfolio. Aside from the Nike and EA contracts, which Sexton negotiated, Tebow has a memorabilia deal with Palm Beach Autographs and has appeared at a couple events for Gatorade, according to Gonzalez. One product Tebow won't be endorsing: soda. "The kid won't touch a soft drink, he's a health nut," says Gonzalez. "We're not looking to go out there and land 50 deals and overexpose him at every gas station. We want to accept deals that are in line with his core values." (Sexton, who also represents Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten and Alabama head coach Nick Saban, did not return several calls for comment.) Denver's decision to draft Tebow surprised many observers, particularly since the club recently acquired Brady Quinn, the former Notre Dame QB, and incumbent starter Kyle Orton is still on the roster. But for Tebow, landing in Colorado may have significant off-field benefits. The state is home to several large conservative Christian organizations, including Promise Keepers and Focus on the Family, and Tebow has already been invited to "every church in the Rockies," according to Gonzalez. "We've received an overwhelming response. Denver is like a satellite office of the Bible Belt, " he says. Going forward, of course, the earning potential of Brand Tebow will be determined by the quarterback's NFL performance, not his NCAA legacy. For all the hullabaloo surrounding Tebow's early jersey sales, he is still likely to be Denver's No. 3 quarterback at the start of training camp. Likewise, there are still questions about his throwing motion and Tebow's ability to perform in a more traditional, "pro-style" offense than the all-shotgun scheme he ran at Florida. "He'll always be able to earn dollars because of what he accomplished in college," says Steve Rosner, co-founder of 16W Marketing, who represented former NFL QBs such as Drew Bledsoe, Steve Young and Troy Aikman. "But Denver has pretty fickle fans -- he'll have to play well." Read More: <http://www.fanhouse.com/category/sports-business/> Sports Business <http://www.fanhouse.com/category/sports-business-and-media/> Sports Business and Media <http://www.fanhouse.com/tag/Albert+Pujols/> Albert+Pujols, <http://www.fanhouse.com/tag/Brady+Quinn/> Brady+Quinn, <http://www.fanhouse.com/tag/denver+broncos/> denver+broncos, <http://www.fanhouse.com/tag/Jimmy+Sexton/> Jimmy+Sexton, <http://www.fanhouse.com/tag/Kyle+Orton/> Kyle+Orton, <http://www.fanhouse.com/tag/Tim+Tebow/> Tim+Tebow, <http://www.fanhouse.com/tag/tom+brady/> tom+brady from fanhouse.com . 3 -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
