Update on why Cardinals' Marvin Harrison Jr. hasn't signed NFLPA licensing deal

Before the Arizona Cardinals made Ohio State Buckeyes star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. the fourth pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, ESPN's Adam Schefter revealed last week that Harrison hadn't yet signed the NFL Players Association licensing agreement. 

According to Colin Gay of The Columbus Dispatch and Chris Rosvoglou of The Spun, Pat McAfee suggested during Wednesday's edition of "The Pat McAfee Show" that Harrison isn't overly thrilled about the NFL's working arrangement with manufacturer and retailer Fanatics. 

"This revolves around a deal that's allegedly being pitched to sophomores in college who have a name by a company named Fanatics," McAfee explained. "I guess there was an offer made to Marvin Harrison Jr. whenever he was a sophomore in college, which happens to a lot of guys, where if you sign it, a card deal, an autograph deal, it's for four years. So it goes all the way into your second year of the NFL. Marvin Harrison, who doesn't need the money, said, 'We're not taking that deal. We're not signing the deal.'"

As noted by individuals such as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, a playable version of Harrison won't be part of "Madden" video games until he signs the licensing agreement. Additionally, official Harrison jerseys aren't yet available for purchase. 

As of Wednesday afternoon, the Fanatics website had the following message on the Cardinals' team page: 

"ATTN Arizona Cardinal fans: Currently, Fanatics and other retailers are not able to offer Marvin Harrison Jr. merchandise until he signs a licensing contract with the NFLPA. Product will be immediately available once he signs."

It doesn't sound like Harrison is close to inking that agreement anytime soon. 

"What we have been told is the price of Marvin Harrison Jr. as a rookie and second-year in the NFL is not the same as when he was a sophomore in college," McAfee added during the show segment. "And there's a lot of people that signed that deal. And hopefully, this will all get worked out."

Harrison generated plenty of headlines when he passed on working out at the NFL Scouting Combine and Ohio State's pro day before the draft. 

According to Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk, Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said during a Wednesday appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio that the club nevertheless "had plenty to evaluate Marvin on and certainly more than enough to pull his card off the board at No. 4." 

Harrison doing things his way throughout this spring hasn't yet negatively impacted his status as an NFL player. Perhaps, as Florio hinted, Harrison ultimately will retain his full rights and do his own deals with companies such as Electronic Arts.