Early Tuesday evening, the Miami Dolphins and Former Michigan Offensive Tackle Jake Long agreed on a deal to take Long with the 1st pick in the upcoming 2008 draft. The contract is for 5 years and $57.75 million, with 30 million guaranteed. This is not the first time the first pick has been determined before the actual draft day, as Mario Williams in 2006 agreed to terms with the Houston Texans the night before the draft.
One of the biggest positives of signing Long before the draft is that it allows the Dolphins to avoid a long and messy contract hold-out, like the Oakland Raiders had to deal with JaMarcus Russell last year. In terms of marketing, having the first pick signed and able to come in a play from day one makes it much easier to market the player. While Russell might not be forgotten in Oakland, he missed all of training camp and only started one game because of it causing him to be forgotten to most of the country.
This pick might make alot of sense for the Miami Dolphins football wise, but it might have made the marketing department’s job a little bit harder. Usually it is not hard to market the first overall pick, but an Offensive Lineman doesn’t exactly overjoy the fans. Offensive Linemen are usually the unsung, unrecognizable heroes of a football team. While many fans know their importance, not many of those fans are gonna rush out and get their #77 jersey.
The Dolphins may have drafted a cornerstone for their offensive line for years to come, and in the process by preventing a holdout they did their marketing department a favor. But on the other hand, this pick will not help the attractiveness of the team, and will definatly not sell many jerseys. This will definately make John Beck’s job easier, but not necessarily the marketing department’s.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft08/news/story?id=3358424
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gv28wFqtGLxy7zfU-fH5Vv_j0Z7A
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9072KMG1&show_article=1
