On Tuesday, Richard Sherman brilliantly lampooned and critiqued the NFL over… well, everything ranging from player safety to endorsement deals to media obligations.
It was funny, scathing and highlighted how absurd the NFL’s rules and regulations could be when it comes to how the league makes money and how it indirectly regulates how athletes conduct their own business.
One person who didn’t find Sherman’s press conference so funny was ESPN’s resident brand acolyte Darren Rovell. In a series of tweets, Rovell bravely defended all those poor, poor corporations and brands from the mean words of one Seattle Seahawks cornerback.
Richard Sherman & Doug Baldwin should probably get their facts straight before doing a parody of the league's sponsorship deals.
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) November 26, 2014
NFL players get 45% of NFL sponsorship $, goes into the cap. So players do benefit from league deals.
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) November 26, 2014
Yes, indirect revenue (that isn’t even guaranteed thanks to NFL contracts and the need to split that revenue between an entire league) cut from a lower percentage than a direct endorsement deal surely addresses Sherman’s point. Good one, Rovell.
By having a Beats deal, and the league doing a Bose deal, Sherman is technically double dipping + got the Campbell's deal thru league.
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) November 26, 2014
Sherman also said he can't talk about Beats by Dre. Also not true. He can talk all he wants. He just can't wear logo in postgame.
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) November 26, 2014
Will somebody think of the brands!?!
Final point on Sherman/Baldwin: Talking to media is part of the job. They wouldn't make as much if NFL wasn't pulling in $7B/year from media
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) November 26, 2014
While no one is denying that talking with the media is part of a professional athlete’s job, fining an athlete $100,000 for an infraction (even a repeat one) is ridiculous, especially when put into context of how much players are fined for, say, endangering another player’s safety (which, as we found out this week, is sometimes nothing at all!).
But you keep fighting the good fight for the beleaguered brands and corporations Rovell. They surely appreciate your effort.
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