Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. will take the field for the 2024 season, but the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft is currently not poised to appear in Madden nor is his jersey for sale due to reported issues with Fanatics.
Before being selected in the NFL Draft, incoming rookies often sign a group licensing agreement with the NFL Players Association, allowing the NFLPA to market their name, image and likeness to nearly 90 companies. Those deals include the rights to the players’ names and images being granted for the creation of player jerseys and memorabilia along with the rights given to EA Sports for the upcoming Madden video game.
Related: Pat McAfee details rift between Fanatics, Marvin Harrison Jr
This past week, Pat McAfee shed light on the situation during The Pat McAfee Show by detailing how the reason Harrison Jr. doesn’t have a deal signed with the NFLPA is because of a dispute with Fanatics. As the former NFL player explained, Fanatics typically signs top college players to endorsement contracts in their sophomore season.
While those players do receive compensation immediately through the agreements, Fanatics structures the contract so it covers multiple seasons of the players’ NFL careers. While that’s appealing to many, it’s not a deal Harrison Jr. needed to sign considering his father is Hall of Fame receiver Marvin Harrison.
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However, according to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN, Harrison Jr. already has an endorsement deal in place with Fanatics. The contract, which he signed while playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes, licenses the rights for individual memorabilia and it’s reportedly worth more than $1 million.
After being selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, however, Harrison Jr. is reportedly attempting to ‘renegotiate the deal for more money’ from Fanatics. The Cardinals’ rookie is attempting to leverage the fact that he hasn’t agreed to a group licensing agreement with the NFLPA.
Interestingly, Harrison Jr. is also selling signed memorabilia on his own website, with a wide range of prices for autographed photos, jerseys and helmets. Furthermore, he’s promised to have signed Cardinals memorabilia available for purchase in the near future. While Harrison Jr hasn’t signed his deal with the NFLPA, his issue isn’t with the players’ union and it remains likely that he’ll appear in Madden NFL 2025.
