Michael Crabtree Surviving Off Delicious Subway Sandwiches

Professional holdout Michael Crabtree has still not signed with the San Francisco 49ers, but don't worry about him. His marketing agent has him endorsing Subway, which is perfect because Crabtree is probably really, really hungry.

Mike Ornstein is not part of the wide receiver's football negotiations, but he says Crabtree is "not under the gun" to sign a football contract any time soon, thanks to $750,000 in endorsements that Ornstein and his partner have already secured. I sure hope those are guaranteed dollars because commercial endorsements don't carry much weight when they come from unemployed people. Crabtree has deals with Subway, Jordan Brand, Upper Deck and Topps-although again, you generally don't get to be on trading cards when you don't own a football uniform.

Only in the last sentence of this article does Ornstein admit that Crabtree would have significantly more endorsement dollars had he already signed—yet another reason why rookie holdouts are extremely counterproductive. Of course, this is after he declares Crabtree "the Reggie Bush of this draft." Is that because he has such a marketable personality, he likes curvy reality stars, or because Bush fired Ornstein after his rookie year?

Ornstein: Marketing cash keeps pressure off holdout Crabtree [Sports Business Journal]