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Nebraska selling jerseys with generic numbers in 2015
Nebraska no longer wants to sell jerseys that fans believe are a specific player's.
The school, like many others, has typically sold football jerseys with the numbers of popular players. Because of NCAA licensing restrictions, the jerseys haven't had the players' names on the back of them. But if you were a Husker fan in the early 2000s and bought a No. 7 jersey, you knew it was Eric Crouch's.
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In 2015, the Huskers will sell jerseys with the Nos. 1 and 15 on them. Next year No. 16 will be sold. It's for 2015 and 2016, of course.
From the Lincoln Journal-Star:
"Basically, we do not want to attribute any number to any specific student-athlete," said David Witty, senior associate athletic director for marketing and communications.
The University of Miami announced a similar policy two weeks ago.
And Witty, interviewed by phone, said it was apparent from Big Ten Media Days in Chicago that other Big Ten teams are doing the same thing.
"It's pretty consistent," he said. "This is becoming the norm."
Even though the "why" behind the decision may not be directly stated, it's pretty obvious. It's the O'Bannon lawsuit, which is seeking royalties from players whose likenesses were capitalized on by their schools. By (optimally) not selling the jerseys of any players on the roster, Nebraska can avoid any confusion that it may be using a player's likeness for the school's gain while the player isn't compensated for the sale of the jersey. The change is for all sports.
But Nebraska has two pretty popular football players wearing Nos. 1 and 15 in 2015; while the school is saying the numbers are for no specific athletes, fans may still think so when it comes to football jerseys.
WR Jordan Westerkamp (in addition to DB Boaz Joseph) wears No. 1 and is a team captain. WR De'Mornay Pierson-El (and LB Michael Rose-Ivey) wears No. 15 and he returned punts and had 23 receptions in 2014. Freshman DB Antonio Reed wears No. 16.
Texas A&M, Northwestern and Arizona didn't sell jerseys with player numbers in 2014. As Witty said, expect more and more teams to do this as long as players are increasingly aware of the marketing value they bring to schools.
Friday, a judge granted the NCAA a stay in the O'Bannon lawsuit. As part of a ruling in the case, schools could have started to pay out $5,000 in deferred payments to players for the use of their likenesses. The stay in the case is in effect until an appeals court rules on the case. The NCAA had previously appealed U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken's ruling.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
