A third-generation Mexican American is poised to become the next superstar quarterback of the National Football League.

Mark Sánchez, who has left the University of Southern California a year early to go pro, has the stats to back up the hype – he ended the 2008 season with 34 scoring passes, No. 2 in the entire history of the USC football program behind now-Arizona Cardinals backup quarterback Matt Leinart.

Now, with the NFL Draft set for April 25 and 26 in New York, several teams are stepping up their efforts to land Sánchez. As of mid-afternoon April 23, ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio predicted that Sánchez could end up as a No. 4 overall pick in the draft, landing with the Seattle Seahawks.

Other teams hot for Sánchez include the Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins and New York Jets, ESPN reports. The Los Angeles Times says the St. Louis Rams are also courting Sánchez.

Where Sánchez ends up could be a game-changer for a team in need of wins. At the same time, the team that signs Sánchez could end up with a bonus asset. Sánchez is viewed as highly admired Latino athlete with a huge Hispanic fan base. This could spur a team to launch a marketing plan specifically designed to convert Sánchez fans into aficionados of his forthcoming team.

No matter where Sánchez plays professionally, Dave Mellin ? who oversees sports sponsorships and brand public relations for Sprint – believes the quarterback will give the NFL a huge boost in its efforts to attract more Hispanic fans.

Mellin is also pleased that Sánchez is one of two collegians who are serving as Sprint spokespersons through the 2009 NFL Draft.

As part of its partnership as the official telecommunications sponsor of the NFL, which dates to 2005, Sprint has used two highly regarded draftees to promote its brand and its NFL Draft-related offerings, including a live simulcast of NFL Network’s draft coverage.

This year, Sprint went with University of Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford and Sánchez. In addition to NFL Draft-related appearances tied to Sprint, the two players are each offering a behind-the-scenes look at the draft process in personal blogs.

When evaluating the players that were set to be top draft picks for sponsorship arrangements with Sprint, Mellin points out that Sánchez exhibited qualities that were unique.

“He’s a popular player,” Mellin says. “What makes him stand out was, first and foremost, that he is bright, articulate, good-looking and a quarterback. Quarterbacks tend to be the best spokespeople for us.”

But the fact that he went to USC and is a native of Los Angeles – a big market for Sprint – was a plus.

The “X-Factor,” Mellin says, is his Mexican heritage.

“We have had a difficult time of trying to tie in our NFL partnership to the Hispanic community,” Mellin says. “We felt that Mark would help us accomplish that.”

Sprint is not the only brand Sánchez has been associated with since declaring his pro football eligibility. At Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, he appeared in the Gatorade “G” Studio through a sponsorship arrangement.

At Sprint, mum’s the word on whether or not Sánchez will enter into an endorsement deal with the wireless services company once he’s signed with a team. Mellin explains that it will be “several months” before Sprint will decide. But he’s not shy in saying he would love such a deal.

“We view having Mark Sánchez tied to our NFL Draft promotion as an opportunity,” Mellin says. “I work with athletes who are going to do endorsements and sponsorships, and there are not a lot of Latino players in the NFL. Mark is unique in that he’s just a magnetic guy. And from our standpoint, the fact that he is Mexican-American makes it so much better for us.”

For Sprint customers who don’t have access to live coverage of the draft, they have the option to learn of Sánchez’s pick with a text alert. For Sánchez, a text alert from Sprint may help if he’s stepped away from the television when his name is called on April 25.

While he’ll be New York on the night of April 24 for a special event with 50 Sprint users, Sánchez is set to fly back to Los Angeles on the morning of Draft Day to celebrate his selection with his family.

For Mellin, Sánchez’s decision not to be at Radio City Music Hall as his name is called is just another positive trait for a player poised to lure legions of Latinos to the NFL.

“He is as big of a name as we’ve seen in quite a while,” says Mellin. “You look at [Atlanta Falcons tight end] Tony González, and he is a popular guy. But there’s something different about a quarterback, and especially one from USC.”

• Sprint as of now does not offer Spanish-language content on its NFL Mobile application. But Dave Mellin, sports sponsorships and brand public relations manager for Sprint, says the wireless services provider has had discussions about it.

HispanicSportsBusiness Update

• In a trade announced April 23, the Kansas City Chiefs traded tight end Tony González – one of the NFL’s most widely-known Latino stars – to the Atlanta Falcons for a 2010 second-round draft pick. González is the only tight end in league history to be selected to 10 Pro Bowls. He holds the NFL record for tight ends with 916 receptions; 10,940 yards receiving; 76 receiving touchdowns and 26 100-yard receiving games. González, 33, asked for a trade in October 2008 during the Chiefs’ 2-14 season. As a member of the Falcons, he is expected to make an instant impact and make the team a Super Bowl contender.

HispanicSportsBusiness Stat Center

BIOGRAPHY

Mark Sánchez
Age: 22
Birthplace: Long Beach, CA
High School: Mission Viejo High School, Mission Viejo, CA
College: University of Southern California
Football position: quarterback

Sánchez is a third-generation Mexican American. His great-grandfather was born in Zacatecas, Mexico and was one of the displaced Hispanics who lived in Los Angeles’ Chávez Ravine – a hardscrabble place where Mexican immigrant families were cleared out to make way for Dodgers Stadium.

Sánchez hails from a family of football players. Older brother Nick Sánchez Jr. was a Yale University quarterback,

and his other older brother, Brandon Sánchez, played on DePauw University’s offensive line. Dad Nick Sánchez Sr. was a quarterback at East Los Angeles College.

Sánchez’s growing Los Angeles fan base includes legions of Latinos, and his fame in the Mexican-American community has already been likened to that of now-retired boxer Oscar de la Hoya and retired Los Angeles Dodgers pitching legend Fernando Valenzuela.

Sánchez began taking Spanish lessons in his junior year at USC so he could conduct interviews with Spanish-language media without the need of a translator. Interest in Sánchez from Mexico-based media in addition to U.S.-based networks prompted the decision.

Famous Firsts

• The first Latino player to play in the National Football league is Ignacio “Lou” Molinet, a native of Oriente, Cuba who in 1927 suited up for the Frankford Yellowjackets, based in Northeast Philadelphia. Molinet played at a rate of $50 per game.
• The first Hispanic to participate in an NFL draft is Joe Aguirre, a Wyoming native who in 1941 went in the 11th round to the Washington Redskins.
• The first-ever Latino to be selected as a starting quarterback in the NFL is Tom Flores, who in 1960 landed the position with the American Football League’s Oakland Raiders. In 1969, as a backup to Len Dawson on the Kansas City Chiefs, Flores earned a Super Bowl ring. In 1979, Flores became the head coach of the Raiders, leading the team to Super Bowl victories in 1980 and in 1983. Flores is only one of two people in the NFL to win Super Bowls as both a player and coach; the other person is Mike Ditka, best-known for his tenure as the Chicago Bears’ head coach. Flores can currently be found in the broadcast booth, calling Raiders games with Greg Papa.
• Jim Plunkett, a Mexican American, won the Heisman Trophy in 1970 as a quarterback at Stanford University. Plunkett beat out famed quarterbacks Joe Theismann and Archie Manning for the award, and in 1971 became the first Hispanic to go No. 1 in an NFL Draft with his selection by the New England Patriots. He was also the starting quarterback for the Raiders in their 1980 and 1983 Super Bowl seasons – under Tom Flores.