it might not matter what the item is. if you have an active player's name or picture on any item, and you sell that item or you use that item to promote a business, that could risk that player's eligibility, even if he didn't know about it. so if you go to fan day or to a game, and you get Shepard to sign a jersey, and then you sell that jersey, you could have just risked Shepard's eligibility. or if you hang that signed Shepard jersey up in your business to promote your business, you could have just risked Shepard's eligibility. to be safe, i wouldn't sell or put anything up in my business that has anything to do with an active LSU player, even if it's just an unsigned jersey with his name on the back, or even if it's just an unsigned photo of the player from an ESPN article published yesterday:
Not exactly. Players cannot receive any renumeration for selling autographs or jerseys. Signing a fan-bought jersey at fan-day does not get a player any money and is perfectly fine. Whatever a fan decides to do with that jersey later is none of the NCAA's business and not a violation of anything. Now, if a player autographs jerseys for a store and receives pay for it, it is a violation. If a player sees that autographed jerseys are being sold for commercial purposes without his knowledge, he is required to ask them to stop it. That's it. But the NCAA can't take a jersey owner to court, they aren't members of the NCAA. And they can't simply rule a player in violation because of something a private individual did. Otherwise Auburn fans could be acquiring signed Alabama jerseys and selling them like mad simply to get Alabama in trouble.
the player is not only ineligible if he receives remuneration for autographing jerseys at a store, he's also ineligible if he permits those jerseys to be used to advertise the store (regardless if he recieves remuneration or not). read 12.5.2.1 again and see it's "or" not "and" if a player walks into a store that has signed memorabilia all over the store (and this store has a whole shrine of signed memorabilia), then that player knows or should know that anything he signed is going to be used to advertise the store, which makes him ineligible. also, with the tons of pics showing players going in and out of that store, it's hard to argue they didn't know that the stuff they signed was being used to advertise the store but yes, if the Bama players had signed stuff at fan day, and this guy had just gotten a hold of it and used it to advertise his store without the players knowing, then all Bama would have to do was send a cease-and-desist letter to the store 12.5.2.1 Subsequent to becoming a student-athlete, an individual shall not be eligible for participation in intercollegiate athletics if the individual: 1) Accepts any remuneration for or 2) permits the use of his or her name or picture to advertise, recommend or promote directly the sale or use of a commercial product or service of any kind
he's a pic of that shrine. there are also plenty of other pics showing autographed stuff throughout the rest of the store. like that article posted above said: "His store resembles a branch of the Bryant Museum" and it featured "an extraordinary collection of signed memorabilia from Alabama football players," including "High on a wall inside the store, there was a large signed and framed No. 3 Trent Richardson jersey" link to full-sized pic: http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/9521/image25255b625255d.png
This pre-supposes that the player has any control at all over what a store owner decides to do with property he owns. He can ask, he can't force a store owner to do anything. Exactly. If a player has not given permission for a store to use his name, then he has not permitted the use of his or her name or picture to advertise, recommend or promote directly the sale or use of a commercial product or service of any kind. All it takes is for the player to write a certified letter to the store making this clear.
This autograph thing is next to impossible to prove. A player could sign a bunch of jerseys for the store owner. Owner pays player in cash. No one other than the store owner and player ever know the transaction existed. Player then sends a letter to the owner asking him to stop the sale of autographed items. Player says he never signed anything other than fan day autographs. Player is covered. The store owner doesn't have to answer to the NCAA at all and can continue to sell items without penalty.
Good luck with that. Alabama Players' Relationship with T-Town Menswear Store Could be Problematic | Larry Brown Sports Officially at War? Auburn and Alabama Inch Closer - Track Em Tigers
Well if you are stupid enough to sign things in the store and have pictures taken then it's not so hard to prove. I guess my point was that anyone with an ounce of common sense could get away with it pretty easily. I forgot to consider that anyone with an ounce of common sense wouldn't have chosen Alabama in the first place.
