Mark Sanchez is sitting alone in the depths of the Coliseum tunnel on a sweltering May day, away from the commotion of the NFL Players Association’s rookie premiere, away from all of the other superstar NFL draft picks and agents and handlers.
Look, there’s No. 1 pick Matt Stafford out on the field, tossing a ball around with former Georgia teammate Knowshon Moreno of the Denver Broncos. Over there, Kenny Britt and Javon Ringer, two new Tennessee Titans teammates, bust on each other, looking like they’ve been friends for years, not three weeks. Oh, and right there, Detroit’s Brandon Pettigrew leaps onto a padded mat while a photographer for Upper Deck snaps his picture.
I almost feel sad for Sanchez, still alone in that tunnel.
Except, that is, for the other 600 Mark Sanchezes.
He scribbles one autograph after the next - Mark Sanchez, Mark Sanchez, Mark Sanchez - every so often adding an inscription, perhaps “El Matador,” just to break the monotony.
Sanchez and Stafford, Moreno and Britt and Ringer - and 30 more of the NFL’s top rookies - descended upon the Coliseum for a two-day free-for-all, arranged by the NFLPA as a one-stop shop for the sports card and memorabilia companies.
But maybe free is not quite the right word.
This Mark Sanchez autograph, featuring his beautiful signature, with that El Matador inscription, will be inserted into a pack of 2009 Upper Deck Philadelphia football cards, due to hit the shelves in mid-July. This small piece of cardboard - smaller than your average card - will likely be worth $200.
There are others, too.
A multi-player autograph card, featuring Sanchez and Stafford. One with San Francisco 49er rookies Michael Crabtree, Glen Coffee and Nate Davis. Some of the cards that these guys sign today will be worth thousands.
A month’s worth of rent for some.
Not for others …
“It’s crazy, man, especially with the times we’re in right now,” Britt says, laughing. “You’ve got a card worth $1,000? Man, I don’t even pay that on my rent.”
Some of his rookie cohorts are not as surprised, though.
New York Giants rookie wide receiver Ramses Barden (Flintridge Prep), out of Cal Poly, understands the big-business aspect of the collectible industry. Gone are the days of simple wax packs. The jersey that Barden wears today will be cut up into hundreds of small pieces and glued onto cards, offering a piece of Barden to the world. He signs sheet after sheet of sticker autographs, the bane of most collectors’ collective existence, but a god-send to the companies, who have neither the time nor inclination to offer hand-signed cards in every product.
Barden gladly signs away, a respectable signature - particularly compared to some, like 2006 Houston Texans draft pick Vernand Morency, who notoriously signed every autograph with a less-than-desirable “V.” For today, this is his job.
Just as much as on Sundays, when he’ll need to catch a few passes.
“It’s crazy, but I’m glad that you’ve got fans out there like that, who spend the money,” Barden said. “Those are the people who drive the sport, drive sports in general. People who are die-hard supporters. If I can give them something that they feel is worth that much, then I’m more than happy to be part of it.”
Thing is, Barden’s cards won’t be worth much, perhaps a fifth of the value of Sanchez’s rookie cards.
But that is not what today is about.
It is about bringing 35 rookies together to provide the stuff that collectors’ dreams are made of.
And for these 35 guys, who we sometimes all forget are still in their early-20s, it’s about renewing the friendships that they’ve spent several months cultivating.
Oakland Raiders rookie wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh pick of the draft, spent much of his spring in Arizona training with Stafford, Jason Smith, Aaron Curry and Britt, all first-round picks.
He formed a bond with all of them, he said, while preparing for the NFL combine. Seeing as all of them became instant millionaires, it clearly worked.
But now Heyward-Bey is happy to be back with them, palling around, being a kid.
“We’re all scattered around the country, and it’s just crazy to see how we’ve just changed over the last month and a half,” Heyward-Bey said. “It’s nice to be back with these guys. We text each other all the time, you know. But it’s nice to see them in person, have fun with them.”
Things are different now, though.
The soon-to-be-signed contracts loom over their heads like pots of gold at the end of a rainbow. Just in the past three weeks, since the NFL draft, everything has changed.
“We’re so used to seeing each other in college uniforms; it is so different seeing guys like this,” Sanchez said. “This awesome game is what brings us together. That’s why guys are so light-hearted out here, willing to have a good time. Because we’re all fans of it, it makes it fun.
“We’re all here getting autographs of each other.”
Maybe I’ll get one from Sanchez. Part of me wants to run away with the “El Matador” inscription.
Part of me knows that as a journalist, I cannot ask for one.
I guess it’ll just have to wait.
After all, Upper Deck comes out in a few months.
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