CBSSPORTS.com's Mike Singer noted Fantex "will soon offer shares" of Bills QB EJ Manuel, who agreed to a “brand contract” with the company. It is "expected to offer 523,700 shares" at $10 each. In return, the company will pay Manuel nearly $5M up front for 10% of "whatever he earns throughout his career (endorsements, etc), estimated to be around" $104M by the company. His stock will "trade under the symbol EJMLL" (CBSSPORTS.com, 5/1).
RACE FOR A CAUSE: In Indianapolis, Curt Cavin reports Pippa Mann's No. 63 Dallara/Honda prepared by Dale Coyne Racing in the upcoming Indianapolis 500 "will carry the colors of Susan G. Komen, the nation's largest breast cancer organization." Mann's "car, helmet and firesuit will be pink, and pledges will be taken based on how many laps she turns" at the race. The partnership "began shortly after Mann changed her red helmet to pink last year to support breast cancer awareness" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/2).
COMING TO A STORE NEAR YOU: Quiksilver President & CEO Andy Mooney on Wednesday said of surfer Kelly Slater, who parted ways with the company in March after 23 years, "We had a fabulous run ... He communicated to us in the summer that at this point in his life, what he really wanted to do was give birth to his own brand -- a boutique, high-end brand. He's very environmentally conscious. He wanted to do something high-end and premier and also with a mind to being very environmentally aware. He wanted to do his own thing and the timing was right for him" ("Mad Money," CNBC, 4/30).
