Broker (Another One) says Manziel was paid $7,500

[joeybee12]

An East Coast autograph broker told ESPN on Tuesday that Johnny Manziel was paid $7,500 for signing approximately 300 mini- and full-sized helmets on Jan. 11-12 while he was attending the Walter Camp Football Foundation event.

The broker played two cell phone videos for ESPN showing Manziel signing white Texas A&M helmets and footballs laid out on a bed in a hotel room. The video does not show Manziel accepting any money.

The broker said the room was at The Omni in New Haven, Conn., during the Camp event. He said the signing took place at three different times on Jan. 11-12, totaling about an hour.

The broker and his partner originally requested money to release the videos for use on ESPN, which ESPN declined to pay. The broker did allow ESPN's Joe Schad to view the videos. Later, the broker said he had decided not to sell the videos.

The broker said the videos, approximately nine minutes in length in total, were initially shot only to be used as proof with authenticating company PSA/DNA.

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/9544137/broker-says-johnny-manziel-took-7500-autographing-helmets

[madinmaryland]

1. I think the team should be bowl ineligible for two years....

This is far worse than getting a couple of tattoos!!!

[joeybee12]

2. ESPN the magazine did a cover story on Johnny Football...and as they do with most athletes

Serious butt-kissing ensued. The writer was on SportsCenter basically going on about how he's a norml kid trying to cope with all the attention...sounds like he's coping pretty darn well to me.

[El Supremo]

3. Fine with me!

Fucking traitors!

[RockaFowler]

4. Isn't this kid from money??

What the heck would he need $7500??

Oh and I think the "broker" is a douchebag

[joeybee12]

5. You gotta figure these brokers, given their line of work...

Are not upright citizens, however, 2 of them now said he did it...

[mbperrin]

6. Here's how to tell the brokers are lying.

Because if they were telling the truth, it would cost them money. Their story: they pay money for autographs and sell them for more, and make money. By going public with it, autographs dry up, and their business dies. So unless they are the dumbest people in the world, that's not it.

But how about, they're not getting anywhere near enough autographs to meet demand, so they threaten to blackmail by reporting that they paid, and when that failed, had no choice but to follow through with the threat - after making the threat, they were getting no autographs anyway, and now no one else will, either. Far more plausible.

After all this is shown to be nothing, the University needs to sue these shitheads for damaging the brand - if you figure the brand is worth $1.5 billion, then a 10% ding would be $150 million, enough to completely kill those bastards' businesses forever, and maybe enough to make them want to kill themselves. I sure wouldn't miss them, and there is a statute on the books in Texas that allows just this.