Freep.com has an interesting item quoting Crain's Detroit Business magazine (which requires a subscription). Crain's is analyzing the endorsement challenges Matthew Stafford will likely now face:
Because of the catastrophic economy, the Lions' winless 2008 season and the specter of the failed Joey Harrington still looming over the team, advertisers locally and nationally may be leery of inking Stafford as a megadollar pitchman. “I think he's going to be one of the most challenged No. 1 draft picks,” said Jan Katzoff, executive vice president for sports and entertainment of San Francisco-based branding and marketing firm Radiate Group. “When you factor that in with not only the global economy but what Detroit is dealing with, you've got factors nobody else is dealing with.” That's a change from just two years ago, when quarterback Brady Quinn arrived in Cleveland from the University of Notre Dame already armed with deals from Subway, Hummer, Xbox, Nike and Sprint. ...My reaction? ... good. From what I hear, Matthew isn't hurting for cash. And he can -- and should -- focus on building a rapport with Calvin Johnson, Brandon Pettigrew, Kevin Smith, et al. The Crain's article does mention that Stafford is in talks for a handful of local and national deals. Should he have any level of success on the field, this year or beyond, you can bet that will spike up. Talk about it in The Den.
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