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Ochocinco Jerseys Aren’t Moving
Posted by Mike Florio on June 9, 2009, 7:43 a.m. EDT
[url="http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/06/09/ochocinco-jerseys-arent-moving/"]http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/06/ ... nt-moving/[/url]
Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco essentially admitted recently that he spent more time in 2008 working on getting his name changed than he did preparing for the football season — especially since he concedes that he did nothing a year ago to get ready to play.
The player formerly known as Chad Johnson filed paperwork to change his name so that he could display the Spanish translation of the numbers on his jersey via the nameplate at the top of the back of the jersey.
With the league poised to fine the player even if he wears the nickname in pregame warmups, the only way to get away with it was to make the moniker his legal name.
The logic was simple — if “Ochocinco” is his name, he’ll be able to wear it on his jersey without consequence.
But Reebok slammed the brakes on the move. Even though “Ochocinco” officially had become Johnson’s new surname, the company that makes all of the jerseys had concerns about an unsold inventory of shirts with “Johnson” above the eight and the five.
After Ochocinco opted not to cut a check to buy the balance of the unsold Johnson jerseys, an agreement was reached to allow Ochocinco to use his new legal name for the 2009 season.
And so the change has been made and the “Ochocinco” jerseys are available for sale.
And they’re moving like parkas in Panama.
According to Darren Rovell of CNBC, the jersey hasn’t cracked the top 100 in sales tracked through NFLShop.com.
As we heard it last year, the move was intended to be a one-year publicity stunt, with Ochocinco later changing his name back to Johnson. Comments from agent Drew Rosenhaus that appear in Rovell’s article seem to confirm that it’s a short-term deal.
“I don’t think he did it purely for marketing reasons and I don’t think he views this as something permanent, either,” Rosenhaus said.
Of course, with the Ochocinco jerseys not selling, Johnson might have to wait a year or longer after changing his name back to Johnson before the “Ochocinco” will be removed from the jersey.
Maybe that’s his end game — to bear the official name “Chad Johnson” but to wear “Ochocinco” on his jersey. And if no one is going to buy his Ochocinco jerseys, he might be able to have his nickname and wear it, too, for the balance of his career.
Posted by Mike Florio on June 9, 2009, 7:43 a.m. EDT
[url="http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/06/09/ochocinco-jerseys-arent-moving/"]http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/06/ ... nt-moving/[/url]
Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco essentially admitted recently that he spent more time in 2008 working on getting his name changed than he did preparing for the football season — especially since he concedes that he did nothing a year ago to get ready to play.
The player formerly known as Chad Johnson filed paperwork to change his name so that he could display the Spanish translation of the numbers on his jersey via the nameplate at the top of the back of the jersey.
With the league poised to fine the player even if he wears the nickname in pregame warmups, the only way to get away with it was to make the moniker his legal name.
The logic was simple — if “Ochocinco” is his name, he’ll be able to wear it on his jersey without consequence.
But Reebok slammed the brakes on the move. Even though “Ochocinco” officially had become Johnson’s new surname, the company that makes all of the jerseys had concerns about an unsold inventory of shirts with “Johnson” above the eight and the five.
After Ochocinco opted not to cut a check to buy the balance of the unsold Johnson jerseys, an agreement was reached to allow Ochocinco to use his new legal name for the 2009 season.
And so the change has been made and the “Ochocinco” jerseys are available for sale.
And they’re moving like parkas in Panama.
According to Darren Rovell of CNBC, the jersey hasn’t cracked the top 100 in sales tracked through NFLShop.com.
As we heard it last year, the move was intended to be a one-year publicity stunt, with Ochocinco later changing his name back to Johnson. Comments from agent Drew Rosenhaus that appear in Rovell’s article seem to confirm that it’s a short-term deal.
“I don’t think he did it purely for marketing reasons and I don’t think he views this as something permanent, either,” Rosenhaus said.
Of course, with the Ochocinco jerseys not selling, Johnson might have to wait a year or longer after changing his name back to Johnson before the “Ochocinco” will be removed from the jersey.
Maybe that’s his end game — to bear the official name “Chad Johnson” but to wear “Ochocinco” on his jersey. And if no one is going to buy his Ochocinco jerseys, he might be able to have his nickname and wear it, too, for the balance of his career.
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