The autographed memorabilia that led to Georgia running back Todd Gurley's month-long suspension earlier this season certainly wasn't worth the cost to the junior, who had been a Heisman Trophy candidate up to that point.
It apparently wasn't worth it to the memorabilia dealer who blew the whistle, either.
The revelation that only three of 80 items signed by Gurley were sold for a total of just $150 is buried deep in a detailed interview that the dealer, Bryan Allen, provided to ESPN. That's less than half of what Gurley was paid ($400) to sign the items in the first place, and undoubtedly far less than what Allen and his partner in the agreement with Gurley, Shane Smith, anticipated. In fact, Allen, who spoke to Sports Illustrated as well, said he has since given away some of the Gurley-signed stock.
Not exactly a windfall, and certainly corroboration of Allen's email to deadspin.com that he wanted compensation for leaking the story because "Gurley has since kind of screwed me by doing this with about 30 other guys. The stuff has lost a ton of its value. Just wanna recoup some of my money."
Gurley promptly tore his ACL in his first game back from the suspension against Auburn after a season-high 29th carry.
Despite the suspension and subsequent injury, Georgia coach Mark Richt has indicated he expects Gurley to enter the 2015 NFL Draft as one of the nation's top underclassmen at the position. Prior to his injury, Gurley rushed for 911 yards on 123 carries, a 7.4-yard average, and nine touchdowns.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
