More individuals are aware of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco than running back Ray Rice. In fact, it is not even close. According to figures provided to FORBES by REPUCOM’s The Celebrity DBI, almost 2-times more individuals are aware of Flacco than starting running back Ray Rice. REPUCOM recently displayed a picture of Joe Flacco to 1,000 individuals and separately showed a photo of Ray Rice to a set of 1,000 people. 52% of respondents correctly picked Flacco, only 37% identified Rice.
Both Flacco and Rice were members of a Baltimore Ravens team that concluded the 2012 NFL regular season with a record of 10–6, and with guts and glory were crowned Super Bowl champions. Yet, there remains a large disparity between those who recognize two key members of the reigning champion organization. The imbalance between awareness of quarterbacks and non-QBs is not only evident within the Ravens' rank-and-file.
In fact, when the Ravens and Detroit Lions match-up tonight to play a meaningful Monday Night Football match (with implications concerning which team earns the highly coveted 6th and final playoff seed in the AFC), it is likely that slightly more people watching the game will recognize Matthew Stafford than the person who probably deserves the designation of best wide receiver in the game -- Calvin Johnson. A REPUCOM survey concluded with 30% of respondents who recognized the Detroit Lions QB while 29% correctly associated Calvin Johnson with his image.
The top 10 best known currently performing NFL players are all quarterbacks. However, NFL quarterbacks do not only outpace others when it comes to awareness. They tend to rank higher than non-QBs in terms of influence and endorsement scores as well. Even quarterbacks embroiled in controversy (i.e. Robert Griffin III with a 75.59 endorsement score) have a higher association value than running backs who are not threatened with losing their starting roles (i.e. Ray Rice with a 67.19 endorsement score).
Being well known does not automatically qualify a quarterback for favor. While more people can point out Joe Flacco than Ray Rice, Matthew Stafford or Calvin Johnson, Flacco is also the least liked of the aforementioned quartet (who is about as well-liked as Tom Brady and Marshawn Lynch). And despite Calvin Johnson's 1,351 yards receiving (putting him in 2nd place with 1 less game than the rest of the league), he is not even considered as valuable of an endorser as Matthew Stafford, who is currently ranked No. 16 in terms of passer rating.
These data points go to show that it simply is good to be an NFL quarterback. Stafford is considered to have a higher endorsement value than Calvin Johnson, but when compared to other quarterbacks, Stafford is not a top scoring endorser. He is behind Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, RGIII, Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick and Andrew Luck. However, he should still be able to command big deals off the field, because after all, he lines up under center.
Darren Heitner is a Partner at Wolfe Law Miami, P.A. in Miami, Florida, Founder of Sports Agent Blog Professor of Sport Agency Management at Indiana University and author of a forthcoming book, How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know published by the American Bar Association. Learn more about him at http://www.darrenheitner.com.
