Autograph dealer answers questions

[cwerph]

www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/21iyej/i_am_an_autograph_dealer_that_deals_specifically/

Basically, he does what the guy who ratted out JFF did last year.

He says he usually will go to a game with a few things, ask a player for an autograph, then ask if the player would be interested in signing some items in his car. The player knows what that means. If the player agrees, they meet in his car, the player signs the items (this guy deals with photos, mini-helmets and full-size helmets mostly). When the player is done, the guy lays an envelope on the seat, the player slides it into his pocket, and the deal is done.

The NCAA is missing the boat on this, I think. They should allow players to sign for the school, the school should sell the items using a pre-determined pricing scale and the player should be compensated based on the sales. Whether they get the money immediately, or it is placed in a trust account for when they leave school could be up for debate.

According to this guy (who would not name names or even give hints), the more successful the program and the more high-profile the player, the bigger they are on his radar.

It has taken me some time to get to this place, but I think the universities should share the largess.

[WANG]

Mar 29, 2014 7:41:40 GMT -5 cwerph said:

www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/21iyej/i_am_an_autograph_dealer_that_deals_specifically/

Basically, he does what the guy who ratted out JFF did last year.

He says he usually will go to a game with a few things, ask a player for an autograph, then ask if the player would be interested in signing some items in his car. The player knows what that means. If the player agrees, they meet in his car, the player signs the items (this guy deals with photos, mini-helmets and full-size helmets mostly). When the player is done, the guy lays an envelope on the seat, the player slides it into his pocket, and the deal is done.

The NCAA is missing the boat on this, I think. They should allow players to sign for the school, the school should sell the items using a pre-determined pricing scale and the player should be compensated based on the sales. Whether they get the money immediately, or it is placed in a trust account for when they leave school could be up for debate.

According to this guy (who would not name names or even give hints), the more successful the program and the more high-profile the player, the bigger they are on his radar.

It has taken me some time to get to this place, but I think the universities should share the largess.

I agree and disagree with you on this.

I agree that players should be able to make money off their own likeness, jersey sales, autographs, etc.

But the other side of it that always eats at me is this: You KNOW that some rich booster will tell a kid "hey, if you go to my alma mater, then I will buy 100 signed mini helmets from you every week, and you will get $1000 in your pocket every week. Sound good?" and it slimes it all up.

If there were a good way to regulate and/or cap the amount of money a player could receive from this, then it might work better.

[cwerph]

Mar 29, 2014 8:21:59 GMT -5 WANG said:

Mar 29, 2014 7:41:40 GMT -5 cwerph said:

www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/21iyej/i_am_an_autograph_dealer_that_deals_specifically/

Basically, he does what the guy who ratted out JFF did last year.

He says he usually will go to a game with a few things, ask a player for an autograph, then ask if the player would be interested in signing some items in his car. The player knows what that means. If the player agrees, they meet in his car, the player signs the items (this guy deals with photos, mini-helmets and full-size helmets mostly). When the player is done, the guy lays an envelope on the seat, the player slides it into his pocket, and the deal is done.

The NCAA is missing the boat on this, I think. They should allow players to sign for the school, the school should sell the items using a pre-determined pricing scale and the player should be compensated based on the sales. Whether they get the money immediately, or it is placed in a trust account for when they leave school could be up for debate.

According to this guy (who would not name names or even give hints), the more successful the program and the more high-profile the player, the bigger they are on his radar.

It has taken me some time to get to this place, but I think the universities should share the largess.

I agree and disagree with you on this.

I agree that players should be able to make money off their own likeness, jersey sales, autographs, etc.

But the other side of it that always eats at me is this: You KNOW that some rich booster will tell a kid "hey, if you go to my alma mater, then I will buy 100 signed mini helmets from you every week, and you will get $1000 in your pocket every week. Sound good?" and it slimes it all up.

If there were a good way to regulate and/or cap the amount of money a player could receive from this, then it might work better.

That's why I said pre-determined pricing policy.

[ohstatefan]

Whole thing makes me even less interested in getting autographed merch.

[WANG]

Mar 29, 2014 9:04:08 GMT -5 cwerph said:

Mar 29, 2014 8:21:59 GMT -5 WANG said:

I agree and disagree with you on this.

I agree that players should be able to make money off their own likeness, jersey sales, autographs, etc.

But the other side of it that always eats at me is this: You KNOW that some rich booster will tell a kid "hey, if you go to my alma mater, then I will buy 100 signed mini helmets from you every week, and you will get $1000 in your pocket every week. Sound good?" and it slimes it all up.

If there were a good way to regulate and/or cap the amount of money a player could receive from this, then it might work better.

That's why I said pre-determined pricing policy.

Maybe I misunderstood what you meant by "predetermined pricing policy", but I thought you meant that each item would garner the player X amount of dollars.

But that would still allow rich boosters to buy an infinite amount of merch from a particular player allowing the player to receive an unlimited amount of money.