NFL Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk Teams Up With Gronk For Startups
NFL Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk has made his debut as the star of “MVP” – a “Shark Tank”-style reality show where start-up founders pitch to world-class athletes as brand ambassadors.
“The concept of having people… pitch their products to you and you get to decide what product you endorse based on the story or their pitch or just how they operate…it’s fascinating to athletes,” Faulk told the FOX Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo.
The show is hosted by New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski and some of the other athletes include Kevin Durant, USA women’s softball gold-medalist Jennie Finch, Antonio Brown and Terrell Owens. Entertainment banker Mark Patricof is also a financial advisor to the athletes.
“We replace the agents,” Partricof said. “It’s a good opportunity to connect the companies directly to the athletes.”
And when Bartiromo asked the pair how to decide between a deal and a dud, Faulk said the trick is to go with your gut.
“As an athlete,” Faulk said, “how do you feel about the product, the person pitching the product and do you want to essentially be partners with them?...My influence and my abilities to move product and just to engage with an audience is what it’s all about.”
The show debuted in January on Verizon’s (NYSE:VZ) Go90. So far people have been very receptive, Faulk and Patricof said.