A lot of folks who are not pro football fans know about Michael Sam. He’s the first openly gay player to be drafted by an NFL team–specifically the St. Louis Rams. The defensive end from the University of Missouri was the 249th player selected out of the 256 drafted.
He already has pioneer and, of course, celebrity status. As well as marketing clout. His jersey, for example, is the number two seller, right behind Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel’s, on NFLShop.com. He has already done a national TV ad for Visa. He agreed to a “documentary” show, since delayed, on Oprah Winfrey’s network.
The Sam story, of course, needs to reflect more than cashing in on asterisk identity to be fully impactful. He needs the public to be buzzing about something other than the celebratory smooch he laid on his boyfriend.
The NFL is, to say the least, an uber macho enclave. So, Sam’s historic drafting is societally significant. But the NFL is also a meritocracy–and most 7th-rounders don’t make it.
Some good advice for Sam right now would be to play down the cause, crusade and celebrity and concentrate on impressing the Rams with his ability as a player and his collegiality as a teammate. No matter how progressive the Rams have proven, their foremost priority is winning football games and whether Sam can advance that ultimate bottom-line cause.
Put it this way: Marketing an historic draft choice isn’t nearly as rewarding as marketing a player that the public–in all its persuasions–will see every Sunday in the fall.