The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir on an ATX business teaming up with the biggest of local celebs (well, via Houston, anyway).
One week before he is expected to be one of the top picks in the National Football League draft ” along with Bush and U.S.C. quarterback Matt Leinart ” Vince Young is expected to announce today a three-year contract with NetSpend, which markets prepaid debit cards. The deal, which Young said will put his likeness on some cards, could be worth at least $10 million.
Company officials said they pursued Young soon after he declared his eligibility for the draft, three days after his touchdown with 19 seconds left lifted Texas to a 41-38 victory over U.S.C. in the Rose Bowl.
The company, like the university, is located in Austin.
“Just being in the city, knowing that they’re alumni of U.T., you know about NetSpend,” Young said in a telephone interview. He said that his mother and uncles cautioned him throughout college to avoid carrying any credit or debit cards, but he has friends who use NetSpend.
Bertrand Sosa, who co-founded NetSpend with his brother, Roy, in 1999, said that he had been scouting Young long before completing the deal with Young and his agent, Major Adams. Sosa, who estimated that he had seen 85 percent of Young’s home games, said by telephone, “Having gone to U.T., I watched Vince’s first game and the second I saw him play, I knew he was on a mission, like we’re on, though ours is one of financial empowerment.”
There’s no truth whatsoever that the U.S. Treasury Department has signed Jay Cutler to endorse cash.