The Super Bowl is a Money Bowl

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Manning, of course, is a veteran pitchman. According to the most recent Davie Brown Index, which evaluates celebrities across a range of attributes, the Colts quarterback's awareness score is on par with those of "Brett Favre, singer Diana Ross, and actor Colin Farrell," while his "likability" rating is comparable to those of singers Jon Bon Jovi, Elvis Presley, and Nascar Hall of Famer Richard Petty. Manning's "aspiration" rating is among the top 50 in the index and puts him up there with Joe Montana, Denzel Washington, and Dick Clark.

Interestingly, Brees' "appeal" score on the Davie Brown Index is actually higher than Manning's, but the New Orleans quarterback's "awareness" score and all other attributes are much lower.

What does that really mean to sports marketers? Fresh meat.

Brees' story, as AdAge points out, "includes not only on-field success but also a prominent role in the rebirth of New Orleans." His personal charity has helped raise millions toward Katrina relief, and his current marketing deals include household name brands Nike (NKE), Pepsi (PEP), Sprint (SPRT), and Visa (V), along with some smaller regional deals (most recent deals include Pampers, Dove, and ProFlowers). If Brees wins the Super Bowl, he'll be in a great position to sign some even higher-profile, higher-dollar deals.

Meanwhile, Brees' current sponsor PepsiCo has also partnered with Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez and Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware on a worthy new charity initiative: Fans can vote at NFL.com/PepsiRefresh or via text for one of the player's causes to receive a $100,000 grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project. Brees desires to provide rooms for cancer patients and their caregivers, Sanchez wants to build diabetes awareness, and Ware hopes to provide a safe house for abused and neglected children.

3. The Plight

Who Dat Says We Can't Write About Dem Saints?

While the NFL sent cease-and-desist orders to several New Orleans-area businesses making merchandise with the Saints' "Who Dat" rallying cry, they haven't begun to pursue those of us daring to write about the issue—and those of us who applaud Louisiana Republican Senator David Vitter, the self-described "Junior Senator of Who Dat Nation," for penning a letter to Roger Goodell that reads "please either drop your present ridiculous position or sue me." (We're clapping for Vitter very quietly, however, lest the NFL revoke our Super Bowl media credentials.)

So far, since there are no reports of Cajuns in chains throughout the Bayou, Saints merchandise continues to sell briskly, with thousands of customers standing in line to get their hands on championship gear. And millions of other Americans are standing in solidarity for woebegone Saints fans, recognizing how the team's ascendance has helped their fans, and New Orleans itself, recover after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina—57% of Americans are leaning toward the Saints this Sunday, according to brand research firm ARSgroup. The Saints have a season-ticket waiting list of 50,000 people, just three and a half years after they had a 44,000 season-ticket surplus following Katrina. And New Orleans will play host to the Super Bowl in 2013, federal stimulus funds aiding Superdome reconstruction.

The Saints' NFC victory united the region as never before, and you get the sense that if they win on Sunday, Mardi Gras will be coming early this year. Says San Francisco 49ers great Ronnie Lott, who was brought in to motivate the team earlier this season: "We all want to be inspired in our lives, and these guys have inspired all of us."

4. A Plethora of Other Telling Numbers

• The Super Bowl Host Committee has worked more than 65,000 man-hours, according to data the organization released late last week

• More than 20,000 workers were gained credentials to staff the site over the weeks before the game. An estimated 75% of those workers live in Florida

• Workers have been hired to put up more than 350,000 square feet of tenting, eight miles of fencing, and 5,000 temporary signs

• More than 550 emerging businesses—all women and minority owned—have registered with the host committee to tackle these and other infrastructure jobs, ranging from construction and security to transportation and food

• Security alone costs more than $5 million

• The Super Bowl Super Kids-Super Sharing sports equipment and book donation project collected more than 25,000 items to be distributed to area schools

• An estimated 30 million pounds of snack foods will be consumed on Super Bowl Sunday

• And according to match.com, 20% of men say they wouldn't date a woman who doesn't know which teams are playing in the Super Bowl

Rick Horrow is a leading expert in the business of sports. As chief executive of Horrow Sports Ventures, he has been the architect of 103 deals worth more than $13 billion in sports and urban infrastructure projects. He is also the sports business analyst for CNN, Fox Sports, and the Fox Business Channel. Rick Horrow is a leading expert in the business of sports. As CEO of Horrow Sports Ventures, he has been the architect of 103 deals worth more than $13 billion in sports and other urban infrastructure projects. He is also the sports business analyst for CNN, Fox Sports, and the Fox Business Channel. Karla Swatek is vice-president of Horrow Sports Ventures and co-author of Beyond the Box Score: An Insider's Guide to the $750 Billion Business of Sports (February, 2010).

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