With Johnny Manziel’s trip to Las Vegas this weekend, the sports media had plenty to blather about. Should he have gone, or should have stayed and studied in Cleveland? We can let them worry about the football implications and whether partying in Las Vegas makes sense for a rookie quarterback trying to learn the playbook. Perhaps he should have stayed home and enjoyed himself playing www.888casino.com instead of enjoying the trappings of late-night Vegas parties. But that wouldn’t have done quite as much for the brand of Johnny Football. Selfies by the pool trump sitting in front of a computer when you’re thinking about brand and endorsements. And Johnny definitely cares about his brand.

Of course, we’ve seen this before so it’s not that new. Remember Broadway Joe Namath? His lifestyle generated a brand and endorsements as well. With Johnny Football everything is just more immediate. Like Namath, he knows how to work the system of his time.

In Cleveland the frenzy has spurred all sorts of business ideas, with t-shirts leading the way. The Browns have always been big business in Cleveland, but years of losing have made it harder for businesses to capitalize on the Browns. All that changes with Johnny Football, especially if he can win football games.

Johnny Manziel is represented by self-proclaimed King James’s agency, so he’s definitely surrounded by like-minded people. Brand and money definitely matter. Endorsements matter. Of course, Lebron James learned to get past his choking in the past to finally win some championships. Johnny Manziel on the other hand is just getting started, so he’s milking what he can now, and setting the stage for even bigger things if he can be a real NFL quarterback. Of course, if he can bring a winner to the long-suffering fans of Cleveland, he’ll be a hero for generations.

So the potential is there for the business of Johnny Football to be quite substantial.