Will Kaepernicks "Inked Up" look prevent him from being a marketable star?

[Deberg_1990]

Interesting column


http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/stor...contract-draft




San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick is going to be a big-time NFL quarterback. That must make the guys in San Quentin happy.

Approximately 98.7 percent of the inmates at California’s state prison have tattoos. I don’t know that as fact, but I’ve watched enough “Lockup” to know it’s close to accurate.

I’m also pretty sure less than 1.3 percent of NFL quarterbacks have tattoos. There’s a reason for that.

NFL quarterback is the ultimate position of influence and responsibility. He is the CEO of a high-profile organization, and you don’t want your CEO to look like he just got paroled.

Now along comes Kaepernick. Since taking over for Alex Smith two games ago, he has convinced everybody in the Bay area that he’s the second coming of Steve Young.

Smith is coming back from a concussion, ushering in the attendant QB controversy. But he is looking like Wally Pipp and Kaepernick is Lou Gehrig. All I can do is look in the mirror and sigh.

Forgive me, but I suffer from tattoo-ism. I sport no ink, and I don’t want any. I know that attitude qualifies me for an AARP card, and I’ve tried to get with it.

I realize tattoos are ways to pay homage to your religion, children and motorcycle gang. I’m cool with LeBron James looking like an Etch A Sketch.

I still cringe when I go to the gym and see middle-aged women with barbed wire circling their biceps. They have bigger arms than I, so I never make fun. But I can’t shake the notion that a person’s body is a temple, and you don’t cover temples in graffiti.

For dinosaurs like me, NFL quarterbacks were our little Dutch boys. The original hero stuck his finger in the dyke to save Holland. Pro QBs were the last line of defense against the raging sea of ink. When our kids said they wanted a tattoo, we could always point to the Manning brothers.

My guess is Archie would have made Peyton throw an extra 1,000 passes before dinner if he’d come home with a tattoo. The old man knew QBs are different.

Did Sammy Baugh, Johnny Unitas, Doug Williams or Joe Montana have arms covered in ink? Do Tom Brady, Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers? The world will end when Tim Tebow shows up a tattoo parlor.

It’s not just a white thing, I hope. When the Panthers interviewed Cam Newton, owner Jerry Richardson popped the question.

Do you have any tattoos?” he asked.

“No, sir,” Newton said. “I don’t have any.”

“We want to keep it that way,” Richardson said.

He was OK with body art on other players, including the human canvas that is Jeremy Shockey. But Newton would be the face, arms and legs of the franchise. The boss didn’t want them covered in ink lines.

“Let’s keep it that way,” he told Newton.

I realize not all NFL quarterbacks are pristine. Ben Roethlisberger has a “COURAGE” tattoo on the right side of his upper body. Smith has one honoring his Serbian heritage. They can’t be seen when the players put on their uniforms.

Then there are Michael Vick and Terrelle Pryor. Neither exactly fit the CEO image, unless your CEO has done a stretch in Leavenworth or has gotten Ohio State on probation over free tattoos.

That’s what makes Kaepernick a threat to the stereotype. By all accounts, he’s polite, hard working, humble and has never been to prison. He sounds more like a Tebow who can throw.

Not to get too far ahead of ourselves here, but it’s not hard to envision him leading the 49ers into the playoffs. If not this season, in the years to come.

His ink-covered arms will one day raise the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Imagine the impact that could have.

For one thing, Jerry Richardson would clutch his chest in horror. At the next Pro Bowl, you might spot Peyton by the pool with a Papa John’s logo on his ankle.

Sigh again.

I still think tattoo removal is going to be huge industry in the coming years. But for now, I might as well accept that Holland is probably doomed.

If you can’t draw the tattoo line at NFL quarterback, you can’t draw them anywhere.

[Stalker]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

Yours will change to red soon enough with requests like this.

Well looks like I got my wish, yeeehaaaaaaaaaaa

[9er guy]

I think he's already gotten several endorsements.

[Imon Yourside]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

I have never understood the fascination with tatting up, and probably never will, but I couldn't care less with what others do with their money and bodies.

Yup. /thread

[T-post Tom]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

I've noticed in the McDonalds commercials with Flacco, Kaepernick is wearing long sleeves...do advertisers hate the ink?

I see restaurant & retail workers wearing bandages to cover their ink all the time. The big bandages can throw you off at first. You think, "WTH happened to her? Did she get attacked by a Great White? Oh wait....goth makeup...46 earrings...must be a tat. A really big tat."

[BWillie]

Its about to the other end of the spectrum. ..NOT having tats may make you LESS marketable. Clearly having tattoos im this day and age is not a hindrance of any kind as far as marketability

[Earthling]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Clearly having tattoos im this day and age is not a hindrance of any kind as far as marketability

Pretty much.

[FringeNC]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Its about to the other end of the spectrum. ..NOT having tats may make you LESS marketable. Clearly having tattoos im this day and age is not a hindrance of any kind as far as marketability

Depends on the market we are talking about. McDonalds, probably makes him more marketable. Upscale markets, not so much.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by FringeNC

Depends on the market we are talking about. McDonalds, probably makes him more marketable. Upscale markets, not so much.

Upscale?

Which "upscale" market is going to appeal to fellow 20 something's?

[Chief Roundup]

It truly depends on what product he would be endorsing. There will be some that he won't get because of the tats. There will be some that won't care about his tats. There will be some that will want to use him because of his tats. There are a lot that he would never have had available to him anyway.
None of it matters if he doesn't start playing better.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Upscale?

Which "upscale" market is going to appeal to fellow 20 something's?

Well, Calvin Johnson hawks Lexus or something, so it isn't necessarily about one age group.

[|Zach|]

Nope.

David Beckham.