Fantex, a brokerage company that allows investors to buy and sell stock linked to the value of a pro athlete’s brand, will now offer customers the opportunity to purchase shares of Bengals’ wide receiver Mohamed Sanu for $10.
In exchange for his participation in the IPO, Fantex will pay Sanu a lump sum of money in order to receive a percentage of his future earnings, including contract pay and endorsements.
Sanu is the fourth NFL player that has reached this agreement with Fantax. Vernon Davis, EJ Manuel and Adrian Foster (who’s IPO was cancelled after he got injured) are publically traded athletes.
Sanu is expected to be listed as the Bengals second receiver behind AJ Green and caught 47 passes for 455 yards and two touchdowns last season.
Considering top tight end Vernon Davis’ stock is going for $10 a share and EJ Manuel’s is going for $10.80, it seems like similar to the Facebook IPO, Manu’s stock is overvalued. Playing opposite one of the NFL’s best wide out’s in AJ Green and catching passes from Andy Dalton, whose play can sometimes be sporadic, I would’ve priced the stock at half the value, therefore encouraging investors to participate based on upside potential. Don’t expect this IPO to be wildly successful…especially if you had to look up the player to see who he is.