Arizona Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. has yet to find what number he’ll be wearing at the next level after being made the No. 4 overall pick, but it appears his nickname is here to stay.
College football broadcaster Gus Johnson helped coin the term “Maserati Marv’ during Harrison’s dominant display at Ohio State, and the player himself recently said he’s a fan of the name.
“It was great. It was great,” Harrison told Eleven Warriors. “After the game, like the phone was kind of blowing up with the nickname. I got to speak to Gus afterwards and I told him I don’t mind it, so keep rolling.”
Perhaps that’d make for some great marketing (with plenty of cash coming in from t shirts) though Harrison jerseys can’t quite be sold yet, as the wideout has yet to sign with the NFLPA – which would grant the license to sell his memorabilia.
On his own show, Pat McAfee shed some insight into why that hasn’t happened yet.
“This is not about the NFLPA,” McAfee said (h/t Awful Announcing).
“Marvin Harrison Jr. will be a part of the NFLPA when the time comes. What I have been told is this is not an NFLPA thing. What this all revolves around is a deal that is allegedly being pitched to sophomores in college who have a name by a company named Fanatics.
“… I guess there was an offer made to Marvin Harrison Jr., whenever he was a sophomore in college, which has happened to a lot of guys. Whereas if you sign it for a card deal — an autograph deal — it’s for four years, so it goes all the way into your second year in the NFL. Marvin Harrison, who doesn’t need the money, said, ‘We’re not taking that deal. We’re not signing that deal.’ So allegedly what’s been happing behind the scenes is a potential tiff or beef between Fanatics and the Marvin Harrison camp.”
When speaking with local reporters, Harrison said he hopes to have the issue resolved soon. You can check out that interview here.
Cardinals rookie minicamp begins on May 10 – we’ll see if that issue’s resolved, though it appears the “Maserati Marv” nickname is here to stay.
