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From now on, call me Randy Ocho Cinco
NFL needs to worry about other outdated jerseys, too
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CommentYes, yes, yes! Finally, I have a reason to write this column, one that I’ve been wanting to do for years and never really had what we in the business like to call a “hook.”
For those of you that didn’t hear, Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Johnson has legally changed his name to Chad Ocho Cinco.
For those of you that didn’t hear, Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Johnson has legally changed his name to Chad Ocho Cinco.
Ocho Cinco, as in 8-5, his jersey number.
OK, thoughts on this before we get into it ...
OK, thoughts on this before we get into it ...
(And I’m allowed to pick on Chad because he’s my cousin. No, silly, I’m just kidding.)
Anyway, Chad, if you have your jersey on — a decent bet on any Sunday in the fall — we already know what your jersey number is.
Anyway, Chad, if you have your jersey on — a decent bet on any Sunday in the fall — we already know what your jersey number is.
So, calling yourself “8-5” in little letters on top of “8-5” in big numbers is, well, silly too.
With this latest move, Chad has officially claimed the top spot as “Most Look at ME! Receiver in the NFL.”
Annual contenders for this honor include Terrell “Popcorn” Owens, Randy “Moon” Moss and Joe “Cell Phone” Horn, but Mr. Cinco takes the cake.
Is Ocho his middle name?
That’s like back in the day, when Mr. T was fond of saying “First name, Mister. Middle name, Period. Last name, T.”
Anyhow, on to the really serious portion of this column.
It turns out that while the NFL has officially acknowledged Cinco’s legal maneuver — well, sort of, since the Bengals roster lists him one way and the promo photo still says “Johnson” on the team’s Web page — apparently there is still the little matter of all the unsold jerseys that bear his original name.
Contacted Sunday by The Associated Press, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said, “He has a financial obligation to Reebok, which produces the jerseys available to fans. That has to be resolved before the on-field jersey can be changed. The same obligation exists for any player that changes his number or name.”
Meaning, Mr. Cinco has to lay out mucho dinero to buy all the lame duck jerseys. How much?
CNBC’s Darren Rovell reported on his blog that if Reebok asked Mr. Five to pay for the cost of making the 100,000 or so unsold jerseys, the total could reach upwards of $4 million.
So, it’s Johnson for now, although NFL commish Roger Goodell said Ocho Cinco jerseys are coming to a shop near you.
“Any player that changes a number or changes his name has to address that so that our licensing is not stuck with a large inventory. That’s just something we’re dealing with. As far as we’re concerned, if he changes his name legally, that’s fine with us.”
Well, Raj, it’s not fine with me.
(And here’s the part of the column I’ve been wanting to write for years.)
How many times have you been to a mall or a movie theater or whatever, and you see someone wearing a jersey of a player that has been traded or signed as a free agent with another team?
Right, millions.
Does the NFL ever worry about how many irrelevant, outdated Randy Moss Raiders jerseys or Alex Smith 49ers jerseys are floating out there?
(Oh wait, Alex is still with the team? OK, strike that part from the record.)
No, they don’t. Why?
Because the money is already under the mattress as far as the NFL is concerned.
In Chad’s case, it’s not under the mattress for the ones that are still on the rack.
Does anyone else see the double standard here?
Now, to clarify, I don’t have a problem with anyone wearing a retired player’s uniform, like a Bo Jackson Raiders jersey or a Brett Favre Packers jersey.
(Oops, strike that, too.)
I’ve been known to rock a Barry Sanders Lions jersey on Thanksgiving Day, faded number 20 and all.
That’s different — the jersey is still “accurate” in that if he were playing today, he’d still be on the correct team.
But I think any fan that eventually gets stuck with a lame duck jersey of an active player ought to be able to mail it back to the NFL and at least get a $10 credit toward a new one or something.
And maybe not having his new jersey was bad luck, as Chad and the Bengals lost to Baltimore in the season opener Sunday.
The normally chatty Ocho Cinco didn’t walk to talk about the NFL’s ruling afterward.
“I ain’t worried about the name, man. We just lost the game,” he told the AP.
“I ain’t worried about that.”
Besides, what’s wrong with the name Johnson anyway?
Register Sports Editor Randy Johnson can be reached at rjohnson@napanews.com or 256-2222.
With this latest move, Chad has officially claimed the top spot as “Most Look at ME! Receiver in the NFL.”
Annual contenders for this honor include Terrell “Popcorn” Owens, Randy “Moon” Moss and Joe “Cell Phone” Horn, but Mr. Cinco takes the cake.
Is Ocho his middle name?
That’s like back in the day, when Mr. T was fond of saying “First name, Mister. Middle name, Period. Last name, T.”
Anyhow, on to the really serious portion of this column.
It turns out that while the NFL has officially acknowledged Cinco’s legal maneuver — well, sort of, since the Bengals roster lists him one way and the promo photo still says “Johnson” on the team’s Web page — apparently there is still the little matter of all the unsold jerseys that bear his original name.
Contacted Sunday by The Associated Press, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said, “He has a financial obligation to Reebok, which produces the jerseys available to fans. That has to be resolved before the on-field jersey can be changed. The same obligation exists for any player that changes his number or name.”
Meaning, Mr. Cinco has to lay out mucho dinero to buy all the lame duck jerseys. How much?
CNBC’s Darren Rovell reported on his blog that if Reebok asked Mr. Five to pay for the cost of making the 100,000 or so unsold jerseys, the total could reach upwards of $4 million.
So, it’s Johnson for now, although NFL commish Roger Goodell said Ocho Cinco jerseys are coming to a shop near you.
“Any player that changes a number or changes his name has to address that so that our licensing is not stuck with a large inventory. That’s just something we’re dealing with. As far as we’re concerned, if he changes his name legally, that’s fine with us.”
Well, Raj, it’s not fine with me.
(And here’s the part of the column I’ve been wanting to write for years.)
How many times have you been to a mall or a movie theater or whatever, and you see someone wearing a jersey of a player that has been traded or signed as a free agent with another team?
Right, millions.
Does the NFL ever worry about how many irrelevant, outdated Randy Moss Raiders jerseys or Alex Smith 49ers jerseys are floating out there?
(Oh wait, Alex is still with the team? OK, strike that part from the record.)
No, they don’t. Why?
Because the money is already under the mattress as far as the NFL is concerned.
In Chad’s case, it’s not under the mattress for the ones that are still on the rack.
Does anyone else see the double standard here?
Now, to clarify, I don’t have a problem with anyone wearing a retired player’s uniform, like a Bo Jackson Raiders jersey or a Brett Favre Packers jersey.
(Oops, strike that, too.)
I’ve been known to rock a Barry Sanders Lions jersey on Thanksgiving Day, faded number 20 and all.
That’s different — the jersey is still “accurate” in that if he were playing today, he’d still be on the correct team.
But I think any fan that eventually gets stuck with a lame duck jersey of an active player ought to be able to mail it back to the NFL and at least get a $10 credit toward a new one or something.
And maybe not having his new jersey was bad luck, as Chad and the Bengals lost to Baltimore in the season opener Sunday.
The normally chatty Ocho Cinco didn’t walk to talk about the NFL’s ruling afterward.
“I ain’t worried about the name, man. We just lost the game,” he told the AP.
“I ain’t worried about that.”
Besides, what’s wrong with the name Johnson anyway?
Register Sports Editor Randy Johnson can be reached at rjohnson@napanews.com or 256-2222.
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