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http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/0706emmitt0706.html
Authenticity is the name of the game for Emmitt
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 6, 2003 12:00 AM
Out of curiosity one recent night, Emmitt Smith visited eBay and randomly pulled up 20 items supposedly bearing his autograph.
One by one, Smith checked their authenticity. The scoreboard: 17 obvious fakes, two other forgeries that were "damn good" and just one legitimate signature.
To Smith, the NFL's all-time leading rusher, it confirmed what he already knew: that fraud still pervades the sports memorabilia industry and that "controlling his brand" has never been more important.
In the past year, Smith has taken dramatic steps to protect his good name, which is worth a considerable amount when legitimately signed on a ball, helmet, jersey or assorted other memorabilia.
Beginning last summer, any collectible item signed by Smith contained a computer chip from WeTrak Inc. A St. Louis-based company, WeTrak heat-seals chips into memorabilia, which allows the company to track and authenticate the numerous items that hit the market after they're signed or worn by Smith.
"There is so much fake stuff out there," said Smith, the former Dallas Cowboys running back who signed with the Cardinals in March. "By being able to tag what you do and keep track of what you do, you're able to assess what's real and what's not real."
A hot draw
At the Cardinals minicamp last month, there were two lines for those wanting Smith's signature: One to get the chip installed and another for Smith's autograph. The Cardinals paid WeTrak's fee so there was no cost to fans.
"It was obviously the first time we've worked with Emmitt and his people on something like that," said Ron Minegar, the team's vice president of marketing and sales. "To marry it to an existing event, we were pretty pleased."
A similar system will be used at training camp in Flagstaff, which begins in July. WeTrak representatives will be there to insert the chips.
A chip can tell WeTrak when an item was signed and how many others were signed that day and track the item until it "disintegrates or burns," said Tommy Davis, WeTrak's founder and president.
"It's his (Smith's) commitment to the fans," said Werner Scott, president of Advantage Marketing Group, a firm that manages Smith's business affairs. "How would you feel if you paid X amount of dollars for something you thought was real and it wasn't?"
Smith admits it also makes good business sense for him. By controlling his memorabilia and autographs on the market, he can charge more for them.
In addition, he has invested in WeTrak and is one of the company's two directors.
"It's worth more to me, but in return it's worth more to the consumer," Smith said. "The person who's buying it for an investment can turn around and flip it later. If the value of the signature continues to go high, the value of the item you purchased today, 10 years from now might be worth twice as much."
There's evidence that Smith's strategy works.
On the weekend of the NFL draft in late April, Smith appeared at the Kings of Football autograph show in Atlantic City. Smith's fees were $349 (photos), $350 (footballs, mini-helmets) and $400 (helmets and jerseys), more than twice as much as any other player there, including Oakland receiver Jerry Rice ($180 for helmets and jerseys).
Smith, however, does sign autographs for charities, which have to prove they're legitimate and be willing to pay WeTrak.
There is room, too, for the average fan who isn't looking to make a buck from a signature, Smith said.
Someone approaching him in an airport can still have a cap or a piece of paper autographed. What Smith won't do is sign memorabilia such as jerseys or balls without the WeTrak chip.
Some people have no problem with that. Others "are not that cool with it," Smith said.
"You have to ask the question, 'Do you really want my signature or do you want to do something else with it?' "
A big business
Smith entered the NFL in 1990, and it didn't take him long to realize how large and how fraudulent the sports memorabilia business was.
Several years ago, Smith was shopping in a California mall with his future wife, Pat. In a shop window was a Dallas Cowboys helmet autographed by Smith, selling for around $600.
Smith knew it wasn't his signature and walked up to guy working the counter.
"How do you know this is real?" Smith said, pointing to the signature.
"I get it from a reliable source," the man said. "They have letters of authenticity."
"Well," Smith said, "I'm here to tell you that it's not real."
"How do you know?" the man said.
"Because I know the guy who signed it," Smith said.
"How can you tell it's not his signature?" he asked.
"Because I didn't write it," Smith said.
"How do I know it's you?" the man asked.
Smith pulled out some identification and pointed to the picture.
"That's me."
The FBI conducted an investigation into the market in the late 1990s and estimated that between 50 percent and 90 percent of the items on the market were fraudulent.
When he comes across fake stuff, Smith calls NFL security. That's what he did recently when he saw an Internet advertisement for a Dallas Cowboys jersey he supposedly wore last season, when he broke Walter Payton's career rushing record.
The ad was asking $3,700 for the jersey, which Smith knew was a phony.
WeTrak chipped not only every jersey he wore last season, but also his shoulder pads, pants, shoes and almost everything he wore in practice.
WeTrak chipped 36 jerseys last season, and Smith wore all but one in games.
"We can go to our database and tell you where every one of those items went," Davis said. "I can tell you right down to the shoe."
Smith's Cardinals uniform will be chipped, also. Even the practice jerseys he wore during the team's recent minicamp contained chips.
Davis thinks WeTrak's real value will be in controlling inventory, and he would like to sell professional teams on the idea.
By placing chips in every item at the beginning of the year, the company not only could determine what items were used but also could prove that something wasn't worn that year.
"We're able to go back in and say, it was played in, it wasn't played in, something special happened (when it was worn) or that something really special happened," Davis said. "Then you have multiple levels of value there. Our goal is to inventory everything a team has, to turn everything on the field into memorabilia."
Authenticity is the name of the game for Emmitt
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 6, 2003 12:00 AM
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Out of curiosity one recent night, Emmitt Smith visited eBay and randomly pulled up 20 items supposedly bearing his autograph.
One by one, Smith checked their authenticity. The scoreboard: 17 obvious fakes, two other forgeries that were "damn good" and just one legitimate signature.
To Smith, the NFL's all-time leading rusher, it confirmed what he already knew: that fraud still pervades the sports memorabilia industry and that "controlling his brand" has never been more important.
In the past year, Smith has taken dramatic steps to protect his good name, which is worth a considerable amount when legitimately signed on a ball, helmet, jersey or assorted other memorabilia.
Beginning last summer, any collectible item signed by Smith contained a computer chip from WeTrak Inc. A St. Louis-based company, WeTrak heat-seals chips into memorabilia, which allows the company to track and authenticate the numerous items that hit the market after they're signed or worn by Smith.
"There is so much fake stuff out there," said Smith, the former Dallas Cowboys running back who signed with the Cardinals in March. "By being able to tag what you do and keep track of what you do, you're able to assess what's real and what's not real."
A hot draw
At the Cardinals minicamp last month, there were two lines for those wanting Smith's signature: One to get the chip installed and another for Smith's autograph. The Cardinals paid WeTrak's fee so there was no cost to fans.
"It was obviously the first time we've worked with Emmitt and his people on something like that," said Ron Minegar, the team's vice president of marketing and sales. "To marry it to an existing event, we were pretty pleased."
A similar system will be used at training camp in Flagstaff, which begins in July. WeTrak representatives will be there to insert the chips.
A chip can tell WeTrak when an item was signed and how many others were signed that day and track the item until it "disintegrates or burns," said Tommy Davis, WeTrak's founder and president.
"It's his (Smith's) commitment to the fans," said Werner Scott, president of Advantage Marketing Group, a firm that manages Smith's business affairs. "How would you feel if you paid X amount of dollars for something you thought was real and it wasn't?"
Smith admits it also makes good business sense for him. By controlling his memorabilia and autographs on the market, he can charge more for them.
In addition, he has invested in WeTrak and is one of the company's two directors.
"It's worth more to me, but in return it's worth more to the consumer," Smith said. "The person who's buying it for an investment can turn around and flip it later. If the value of the signature continues to go high, the value of the item you purchased today, 10 years from now might be worth twice as much."
There's evidence that Smith's strategy works.
On the weekend of the NFL draft in late April, Smith appeared at the Kings of Football autograph show in Atlantic City. Smith's fees were $349 (photos), $350 (footballs, mini-helmets) and $400 (helmets and jerseys), more than twice as much as any other player there, including Oakland receiver Jerry Rice ($180 for helmets and jerseys).
Smith, however, does sign autographs for charities, which have to prove they're legitimate and be willing to pay WeTrak.
There is room, too, for the average fan who isn't looking to make a buck from a signature, Smith said.
Someone approaching him in an airport can still have a cap or a piece of paper autographed. What Smith won't do is sign memorabilia such as jerseys or balls without the WeTrak chip.
Some people have no problem with that. Others "are not that cool with it," Smith said.
"You have to ask the question, 'Do you really want my signature or do you want to do something else with it?' "
A big business
Smith entered the NFL in 1990, and it didn't take him long to realize how large and how fraudulent the sports memorabilia business was.
Several years ago, Smith was shopping in a California mall with his future wife, Pat. In a shop window was a Dallas Cowboys helmet autographed by Smith, selling for around $600.
Smith knew it wasn't his signature and walked up to guy working the counter.
"How do you know this is real?" Smith said, pointing to the signature.
"I get it from a reliable source," the man said. "They have letters of authenticity."
"Well," Smith said, "I'm here to tell you that it's not real."
"How do you know?" the man said.
"Because I know the guy who signed it," Smith said.
"How can you tell it's not his signature?" he asked.
"Because I didn't write it," Smith said.
"How do I know it's you?" the man asked.
Smith pulled out some identification and pointed to the picture.
"That's me."
The FBI conducted an investigation into the market in the late 1990s and estimated that between 50 percent and 90 percent of the items on the market were fraudulent.
When he comes across fake stuff, Smith calls NFL security. That's what he did recently when he saw an Internet advertisement for a Dallas Cowboys jersey he supposedly wore last season, when he broke Walter Payton's career rushing record.
The ad was asking $3,700 for the jersey, which Smith knew was a phony.
WeTrak chipped not only every jersey he wore last season, but also his shoulder pads, pants, shoes and almost everything he wore in practice.
WeTrak chipped 36 jerseys last season, and Smith wore all but one in games.
"We can go to our database and tell you where every one of those items went," Davis said. "I can tell you right down to the shoe."
Smith's Cardinals uniform will be chipped, also. Even the practice jerseys he wore during the team's recent minicamp contained chips.
Davis thinks WeTrak's real value will be in controlling inventory, and he would like to sell professional teams on the idea.
By placing chips in every item at the beginning of the year, the company not only could determine what items were used but also could prove that something wasn't worn that year.
"We're able to go back in and say, it was played in, it wasn't played in, something special happened (when it was worn) or that something really special happened," Davis said. "Then you have multiple levels of value there. Our goal is to inventory everything a team has, to turn everything on the field into memorabilia."
