Maybe Michael Crabtree Has a Career as the Next Billy Mays

According to marketing agent Mike Ornstein, holdout wide receiver Michael Crabtree has made about $750,000 in endorsements since coming out of college, which according to him is enough for Crabtree to stave off any economic pressure that would rush the player into an undesirable deal with the 49ers.↵↵Yes, despite the fact that it’s looking increasingly likely that Crabtree won’t suit up at any point this year for an NFL team, the receiver has signed marketing deals with Subway, Jordan Brand, and trading card companies Upper Deck, Topps and Panini America (formerly Donruss).↵

↵↵That’s a pretty positive bargaining chip for the time being for Crabtree, a little walking around money to tide him over. That is, until public opinion completely ossifies into the image of him as a disagreeable prima donna, which can’t be far off. And with that, one would imagine, the endorsement deals would dry up in a hurry. At that point, his financial standing might compel him to actually do the job he’s been working toward most of his life.↵

↵↵As a quick foreboding aside: Ornstein, who was formerly the marketing agent to Reggie Bush, told SportsBusiness Journal that “Michael Crabtree is the Reggie Bush of this draft.”↵

↵↵From a football standpoint, that’s pretty harsh criticism, but considering how visible and lucrative Reggie Bush is still able to be despite any substantive accomplishments in the NFL, that has to be good news from a marketing standpoint.↵

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