No cream in Madden's coffee?

Yes, because Manning has all the motivation in the world to lie about how FEW endorsement opportunities he has.

 

That's all you've got to offer? The number of endorsement contracts he has vs. an unanswerable query about why he hasn't appeared on the cover? And legit journalist means somone who actually asked the question and got an answer, truthful or not.

 

What does Chris Masters have to do with anything?

 

First of all, Manning was the cover boy every year for the Microsoft football game that came out along with the original XBOX, and died when EA got the exclusive rights to the NFL.

Manning himself cannot bar his likeness being used in the game because he is a member of the NFLPA, which signs over the rights to every member of it's organization to EA every year for the game. If he wanted to leave the union, as Barry Bonds did with the MLBPA a few years ago, EA would have to negotiate with him for the rights to use his likeness.

And, a piddly little detail, Manning only endorses Mastercard, not American Express.

 

I actually think it's a fair point to raise and question to ask. I would guess coincidence, but it would provide an interesting hypothetical: What if his marketing department determined that they would not sell as many with a white guy on the cover (it's a hypothetical, don't challenge the assumption as a way to weasel out of the question). Any problem with them consciously avoiding white players?

 

FACTS!?! Putz!

 

I don't know. He did rush for 1,880 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2005. So it's not like he didn't "deserve" to be on the cover, whatever that means. It's not a racial issue because, and I haven't seen the demographics so this is all speculation, but I'll bet the majority of sales are coming from white people anyway.

The fact is, it doesn't matter who is on the cover. Wes Welker could be on the cover and it would still be the best-selling football game on the market. I'm sure the good people at EA Sports don't sit around and think, "Peyton? Nope. We need a darker person. ..."

 

It was Mastercard. Not AmEx.
Mastercard is an NFL Sponsor. AmEx is not.
You're right.

 

My point was. He, himself, answered the question.
And he was unable to do it contractually because of his affiliation with DirecTV. What that means, I don't know. Nor, really, do I care.
We've dealt with Payton for a decade, now. He's engaging and forthcoming. Anyone that has been in a pregame interview or meeting with him will tell you. The man will tell you the entire gameplan if you ask the right lead-in questions. Not in generalities, either. He will tell you, then go out and execute it.

 

Jesus Christ.... as Fenian so astutely observed above (he is nothing if not that), Manning didn't lie about his endorsements!

 

It's a bit odd that the Madden cover would be a verboten endorsement, though. Does ESPN's presence in EA games present an issue?

 

As usual, not sure where you're going with all this. You seem to contradict yourself. Either way, the two questions posed earlier stand:

1) Do you know for sure if Peyton has contractual agreements that prevent him from appearing?

2) Do you know if EA Sports even asked him, and, if eligible, did Peyton turn them down?

All the other crap is just window dressing.