Texas A&M has calculated the difference between being an OK football program and a great football program. It's $37 million.
A sports sponsorship evaluation company measured the media exposure from Texas A&M's great season and quarterback Johnny Manziel's Heisman Trophy win and concluded that Manziel's season got Texas A&M 1.8 million media impressions. That works out to be $37 million worth of exposure.
"We've long known that winning the most coveted trophy in sports attracts a great deal of media coverage, but this study gives us a much better understanding of the extent of the impact of the accomplishments of coach Kevin Sumlin, Johnny Manziel and the entire team during the memorable season we just completed," Texas A&M athletic director Eric Hyman said. "The study validates how winning the Heisman Trophy truly does capture the national spotlight, and it's a great way to start our membership in the SEC, which provides unparalleled visibility for our university."
"Media impressions," in this context, are just mentions, whether in print or on television, radio or the Internet. The term doesn't refer to merchandise sales or donations or any actual financial transactions.
The company, Joyce Julius & Associates, measured data from the day Texas A&M beat Alabama (Nov. 10) until it beat Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl (Jan. 6).The greatest values were associated with Internet exposure ($20.5 million), television exposure ($7.6 million) and print exposure ($7.5 million).
