Names & Faces: Lepselter Talks Marketing Barber Twins

Agent Handles Endorsement Deals For Both Barber Brothers

Mark Lepselter, the business manager for Giants RB Tiki Barber and Buccaneers CB Ronde Barber, is responsible for the twins’ endorsement deals, and while Tiki’s “list is far longer,” Lepselter said that he “does not craft a deal for Tiki worried what Ronde will think.” Lepselter: “It’s the same talents. It’s just a different mentality.” Both Barbers last week took part in a photo shoot for People magazine. Tiki announced last week that he’s planning to retire at the end of the season (N.Y. TIMES, 10/25).

FLASH POINTS: Converse has unveiled the Wade 1.3 shoe, the updated version of Heat G Dwyane Wade’s signature shoe. The new shoe will cost $100 a pair, up from $90 for the original. The 1.3 model is “NOT to be confused with the even more updated version, the Converse Wade 2.0, which won’t debut until the All-Star game” (Helen Jung, OREGONLIVE.com/BLOGS, 10/23). Wade is featured in a Q&A with NEWSWEEK’s David Gerlach, and when asked why he signed with Converse, Wade said, “You get your pitches (from different athletic shoe companies). What I heard back, I didn’t like. I decided I was going to wait until the right thing came along. ... I understood where Converse came from” (MSNBC.MSN.com, 10/24).

PUBLIC SERVICE: In SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, Andrew Marchand reports NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. last weekend became the first sports figure to appear in NBC’s “The More You Know” PSA series since Heat President & coach Pat Riley in ’93. NBC’s John Madden has also filmed a PSA to debut later in the fall. Earnhardt’s spot deals with Internet safety for children, while Madden will emphasize the importance of emergency preparedness (SBJ, 10/23 issue).

TIME PIECES: ESPN’s Dan Patrick, Trey Wingo and Steve Levy appear in a new print ad for watch brand Raymond Weil to promote the launch of its RWSport watch, the “company’s first venture into the category.” The black and white ad, via MSL, N.Y., shows the anchors “in a relaxed setting in a press booth.” The ad appears in the October 23 issue of SI, and will also appear in magazines including Esquire, Men’s Health, Details, Best Life and Fortune (BRANDWEEK, 10/23).