Hoping to avoid some of the distractions and controversy that landed at the feet of Texas A&M during the Johnny Manziel hey-day — Louisville has taken steps to prevent Jackson and other athletes from signing autographs or messing up their eligibility over money.
Now with his meteoric rise, Louisville has banned Jackson from signing autographs due to NCAA eligibility concerns, according to Brett McMurphy of ESPN.
According to reports, the school isn’t taking any chances in a potential violation of NCAA bylaw 12.5.2.1.
“We decided to take this measure as more of a proactive approach to protect the eligibility of our student-athletes,” said Louisville spokesperson said in a statement to ESPN. “Furthermore, certain steps needed to be taken to insure that third parties were not benefiting commercially on the signatures of the student-athletes.”
In 2013 — Manziel was accused of signing autographs in return for $7,500 — while then Georgia running back Todd Gurley was suspended four games for receiving $3,000 for the same offense the following season.
Through five games, Jackson has thrown for 1625 yards and 14 touchdowns, while rushing for 688 yards and 14 scores.