A single bad performance by Russell Wilson in Week 3 opened the door for rookie Jaxson Dart to take over in New York. Two months later, with the rookie sidelined by an injury now, Wilson still can’t get his Giants job back. So, it’s a good thing he has other things cooking.
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Dart suffered a nasty concussion in Week 10 against Chicago. He appeared to be knocked out cold after slamming his head into the turf. Wilson came in to finish the game. However, Dart was ruled out for Week 11; it was Jameis Winston, not Russ, who was named the starter for the game against the Packers.
Wilson, for his part, said he’s happy for Winston. Russ insisted that he can only focus on what he can control, and one of those things he can control is his off-field ventures.
Just a few days before that Bears game, Wilson announced a partnership with the video-sharing platform Cameo. “What’s up, guys? Russell Wilson here, I’m super, super excited about doing something I’ve been wanting to do for years, and you guys have been asking for,” he said before explaining what the content would be like.
“Inspirational videos about faith, life, sports. Anything you guys need, coming your way. Unlimited videos on Cameo. Let’s go!” the veteran QB added in his announcement video.
Cameo is a website where fans can buy short, personalized videos from celebrities and athletes. Wilson will be charging a whopping $333 per video, which are usually about 40 seconds in length.
Wilson also announced that 3 percent (or $9.99) of each video sale will go to his “Why Not You Foundation.” Established in 2014, the foundation runs community and education-focused initiatives.
On Cameo, you can pay to have a celebrity or athlete of your choice record a personalized video for birthdays, parties, or even simple well-wishes. It has also become common to include a Cameo as part of the prize for winning in a fantasy football league, where the winner gets a shout-out from someone associated with their favorite team.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Acho has some qualms with Wilson’s decision to join the platform. He claims it makes Wilson seem “broke.”
The former linebacker argued that this accessibility through Cameo takes away Wilson’s so-called aura. He even compared it to the inaccessibility of world-famous names like Michael Jackson and Buckingham Palace.
“I love Russ. But Russell Wilson being on Cameo is kinda wild. Me and Shady [LeSean McCoy] got into this argument… You made $315 million in the NFL… and who knows how much you made off the field,” Acho said.
“To me, being on Cameo it’s just a questionable look for Russ. Not because I think it’s questionable. But because people are gonna sit here and say, ‘Dang. Russ, you must be broke.’ It almost makes it seem like it’s beneath Russell Wilson, who’s an active NFL player,” he added.
Acho’s characteristically unresearched and unnecessarily critical opinion was completely shut down by his co-hosts. What’s wrong with wanting to make a few more easy bucks while you’re still in the league? This is America, after all.
And Acho’s reasoning that it’s a bad look because Wilson is an active player makes even less sense when you take a quick peek at Cameo’s roster of athletes. There are dozens of active NFL players on there.
Cameron Dicker, Brandon Aubrey, Kyle Juszczyk, DeAndre Hopkins, Dion Dawkins, Micah Parsons, Kenneth Gainwell, Dan Skipper, Jonathan Taylor, and Tyreek Hill are just a few of the others. Oh, and there’s also the guy who took Wilson’s job, Jaxson Dart, who charges about $400 per video.
Not to mention that Acho’s other co-host, Shady, a.k.a. LeSean McCoy, is also on Cameo. No wonder they argued about it.
