Marcus Davenport hasn't played a snap for UT-San Antonio in nearly four months but the new New Orleans Saints' defensive gave the school a big win during the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
[divider]
MORE: Big 12 Has Another Pathetic Showing
MORE: Did Kiper or McShay Have Most Accurate Mock?
[divider]
The University of Texas-San Antonio would have to spend at least $50 million in marketing to earn the exposure they received when Davenport was chosen with the 14th pick on Thursday night.
"I’m going to say it is probably easily approaching $50 million in exposure value, and probably much higher than that,” Eric Wright, executive director of research at marketing and advertising Joyce Julius & Associates, told Forbes. “depending on if there’s any kind of a twist to a story that makes it more newsworthy or they are drafted higher than expected. Anything that would cause someone to maybe report on it maybe a little more than just ‘they were picked 14th, and away we go.’”
Wright noted calculating the value is not an exact science and many factors are considered when projecting value of exposure, but the impact a selection can have on a smaller school is unlike any marketing campaign they may conduct.
“I would use the comparison to what happens in the NCAA basketball tournament,” Wright added. “What’s the story usually? Well, it’s the small school that has a run, and everyone’s talking about that, and that’s the story. That’s what is interesting, at least until we get to the championship.
“I would say it’s similar to that in the draft because I think a small school that has a player that’s drafted in the first round like that, that is a news story, and they are going to enjoy maybe that extra mention, or two, or 1,000, because of that situation.”
You can read all of Wright's comments and projections here.
