With WR Keyshawn Johnson being traded from the Jets to
the Bucs, "there was a chance for someone to take his spot
as one of the marquee athletes in New York," according to
Ken Berger of NEWSDAY, who writes that Jets WR Wayne Chrebet
"has chosen to market and conduct himself off the field in a
manner that is nothing like Johnson's." Chrebet "might be
offering a glimpse of the way star players will choose to
present themselves to the public in the future -- on the
Internet, on billboards and on the shelves of toy stores,
but not in your living rooms via" TV or newspapers.
Chrebet's "backdoor marketing blitz" includes being one of
Nike's "featured promoters" and a spokesperson for the Laser
One eye-surgery center. His own Web site (www.chrebet.com)
includes postgame Webcasts and weekly journals, and Chrebet
also makes $20,000 per speaking engagement. He has "Chrebet
Crunch" cereal and there is talk of other food products.
His No. 80 Jets jersey is "said to be the best-selling
football jersey" in N.Y. One person close to Chrebet said,
"He markets himself differently than Keyshawn. He knows
that the majority of players in the league have nothing but
disdain for guys like Keyshawn" (NEWSDAY, 11/29).