#rovell

To give you an idea of how much confidential information comes Darren's way, he had to leave the phone call twice before completing a relatively quick three questions. And rightfully so. He has the ear of anyone on the money side of sports, including me.

One of those calls was from Manziel's marketing team. The other piece of information was that Richard Sherman was cut from the final footage of a McDonald's ad featuring Lebron, Alex Morgan, and Johnny Manziel.

So is the life of Darren Rovell. Quite simply the most prolific, loved, and hated sports marketing figures in the business.

Question 1: Will you touch on the CrossFit v. Gatorade kerfuffle?

Rovell: I think that I'll stay away from that for now.

{I scoffed}

Me: What would make you pay more attention the CrossFit Games movement anyway?

Rovell: The biggest thing is year-round character development. Sports fans want to see personalities from their athletes. Storytelling is what its all about. A more consistent TV schedule would help. There just needs to be more exposure. I still see it as a better replacement for "World's Strongest Man." Sponsorship growth may change that. 

SIDE BAR:

Smart choice on his part to avoid discussing Gatorade, this is going to get worse before it gets better. But man, is Rovell's Gatorade blog / book fascinating, in hindsight.

From his Gatorade blog on Gatorade AM, a 2007 product:

Here's what it says: "Research shows that about 50% of exercisers aren't fully hydrated before their morning workout. For those athletes, there's Gatorade A.M. With no caffeine, Gatorade A.M. contains the same scientifically proven formula as Gatorade Thirst Quencher with flavors developed to appeal to you in the morning."

Read his book: First in Thirst.

Momentary discussion about a tweet: Web, did you see my tweet on the Saint Louis, kid?

Love the major listed for Jordair Jett. Guy is a SENIOR pic.twitter.com/nUyWVPQjMk

— darren rovell (@darrenrovell)

March 21, 2014

Me: I died laughing. Died!

Rovell: He is a senior in college. "Deciding"?? It just sounds funny. And then I get the outrage from Saint Louis University fans who tell me, "You should do more research! He has a major!" I found the graphic on the school's official website! Was I not supposed to believe that he averages 13.8 points per game? That's on the website too.

Question 2: What are your thoughts on Johnny Manziel's marketing team? Will he be too focused on marketing and not focused enough on football?

Rovell: Ultimately, that's on Manziel. It's his job to stay focused. He has an amazing team around him so I think that with their help, he will stay focused on performance. One thing that is likely distracting him is the "Johnny Football" licensing issue.

A few hours later, Rovell broke news:

Johnny Manziel wins initial trademark battle, closer to owning "Johnny Football" http://t.co/SF1Cq0olYT

— darren rovell (@darrenrovell)

March 21, 2014

Question 3: How do you keep up with the inundation of information, both outgoing and incoming?

Rovell: It's getting tougher. During big events like March Madness, my Twitter mentions are becoming so wild that it's difficult to check out the people that I follow. I am at 1,100 now. I may have to drop down to 500. 

Me: I must admit, with the exception of Gary, I don't see anyone that generates value and interacts like you do. I mean Adam Schefter does but he's pretty specific..

Rovell: Yeah, we're different. He gets his information from one place, no one is sourcing information like I am. It can be a little much.

Me: Agreed. You take it to a whole 'nother level, for sure. I hope that you find a way to digest and disseminate more efficiently. {Under my breath} As long as you don't unfollow ME.