SCOTT SIMON, host:
Quarterbacks, of course, are just about the most marketable players in the NFL. Theyre getting more protection on the field this season. Referees are handing out bigger penalties for hits, trying to keep the Leagues leading men in the game and off the injured list.
Nancy Farghalli reports.
(Soundbite of football game)
NANCY FARGHALLI: NFL star quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning spend their days dodging hits and sacks from 300 pound defensive linemen. But off the field many of the quarterbacks star in their own hits, in commercials. Take Peyton Manning.
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Mr. PEYTON MANNING (Quarterback, Indianapolis Colts): I hate to bother you. Will you sign my melon. Peyton P-E-Y.
Unidentified Man: Groceries $41.
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Mr. MANNING: Listen, most major sports like football are shot on a Sony HD camera. So sports...
Mr. PAUL SWANGUARD (President, Warsaw Sports Marketing Center, University of Oregon): He is about as prolific a marketer on the NFL as weve ever seen.
FARGHALLI: Thats Paul Swanguard. He teaches sports marketing at the University of Oregon. He says the NFL builds its success on players like Peyton Manning being everywhere, playing and pitching.
So the NFL understands that by protecting him as a player while hes out on the field gives them a way to reinforce what hes doing in those ads. He does no service to that effort if he is sitting on the sidelines wearing crutches or trying to figure out how to count from A to Z.
FARGHALLI: So, the NFL is going further than ever to protect quarterbacks. This season, roughing the passer calls are on the rise - the first time in three years - and several games had controversial roughing the passer calls. Some credit the increase to a new rule change, nicknamed the Brady Rule. Last season, a hit on Tom Brady's knee ended his season. Now referees can call a penalty if the defensive player hits a quarterback's knee.
Still, is the NFL going too far in protecting quarterbacks? After all, this is football.
Troy Aikman is a former quarterback and a Fox Sports broadcaster.
Mr. TROY AIKMAN (Former Quarterback): If the rules had been in place when I was playing, I believe that my career would have been extended three or four years.
FARGHALLI: Too bad. But Aikman says that one thing hasn't changed since his playing days. Referees follow the letter of the law with penalties, without looking at intention. Aikman says that's not always good.
Mr. AIKMAN: It's relatively easy then to determine whether or not a blow to a quarterback was deemed excessive or incidental. So, I'm discouraged by the fact that there have been a number of games that are influenced not that the outcomes are in question but a number of games that have been influenced based on the protection of the quarterback.
FARGHALLI: The NFL declined to comment for this story but says they review every penalty call of every game. But Aikman says the new rules will help keep quarterbacks in the league and in your commercials.
Mr. AIKMAN: I think we're going to see more and more quarterbacks especially, I think we're going to see them playing much longer than what we have in years past.
FARGHALLI: And for a league that likes its stars front and center, that's the best offense.
Nancy Farghalli, NPR News.