Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will be at the Kroger’s in London , KY on August 2nd to sign autographs.  If you want a piece of UK history signed by him, it is going to set you back a cool forty five dollars.   I was surprised by the look on peoples faces as I told them that fact.  It was as if they were disgusted by the fact he would charge for his signature.  On the flip side, I was equally surprised when I had some people say “Is that all? That’s cheap for an autograph”.  Fan reaction to the price of an autograph is something that really puzzles me.

I want to go ahead and get one thing out of the way.  If you disagree with players charging for their John Hancock at events like this, I don’t think you should blame the player himself.  In MKG’s circumstance, his agent and Kroger have worked a deal out and made the $45 price.   As so many other young players, Kidd-Gilchrist is going to do what his agent tells him.  Therefore, if your going to get mad at somebody, get mad at the sports agency.  Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has done nothing but be great with the fans, as he helped hang banner # 8 in Rupp Arena.

Now that I have given the above disclaimer, let’s take a closer look at these autograph sessions.  One thing to point out is that this isn’t just a Kentucky player thing, it’s a every player in every sport thing.  Tim Tebow charged $130 + for his autographs.  The same can be said about Cam Newton.   Charging for autographs is the culture.

Just because something is the normal, however, doesn’t mean people should be happy about it.  I asked my Facebook followers(Join us on Facebook) what they thought about their beloved UK players asking for money for their signatures.  They are not happy campers.  Below is a couple of examples that commented :

An autograph is something i would never pay for from anyone, especially an unproven rookie. This is exploitation of fame that he would not have if not for this state. Hearing things like this moves them down in my book!

Honestly. I don’t believe that they should charge. That they are making gooooooood money playing pro. We stood behind them. In my opp. If your in the bbn. You shouldn’t have to pay

I LOVE Mike Gilchrist He is My Favorite.. So, I say this with love. They have made it Big in this world.. & I am SO very proud of each of them. But, I find it a little disturbing.. That we * The Fans* That have cheered, fought with negative people , Their like our children we protect. I feel it’s a smack in the face to charge for an Autograph:(.. Just my view on it.

 

Ok, I get it.  As fans we feel that these players owe us something.  The fact that they are charging kind of hurts our feelings.  It is like the relationship that we thought we had with the players was/is not as close as first thought.  Do they, however, owe us something? I’m not for sure.  I would like to hear what you have to say about the topic.  So , comment below ….. comment on our Facebook , or send me a response via twitter @Wildcatblogger  .  In the mean time, I’ll be lining up at Kroger in London , waiting to pay $45 dollars for my autograph.