"And we really want him to focus on football."
McNabb's initial local deals snowballed into national exposure, especially during the Eagles' successful playoff runs when he was among the prominent faces of Chunky Soup.
Currently, McNabb has marketing deals with Nike, Verizon and AirTran Airways, among other titans.
Experts don't expect Kolb to duplicate this immediately. Like any quarterback, winning is the only recipe. In time, Kolb could absorb a large chunk of McNabb's sponsors. But not yet.
"You don't just come in with that kind of cache," said Dr. Joe Mahan, a sports marketing professor at Temple University's Sport Industry Research Center. "[McNabb] didn't come in and demand the same level of respect he did in Year 10 or 11. I don't think companies will automatically jump to Kevin Kolb."
That doesn't mean Kolb is heading into foreign territory. He might be on the cusp of a marketing boon.
For one, he strategically inked a 3-year deal with Nike as a rookie that is expiring. A larger payday might be on tap. Jeff Nalley, Kolb's agent, said Kolb has had several deals on the table since entering the league. When McNabb was traded, Nalley said he received interest "by everyone from banks to airlines."
Sure, Kolb's experience is paper-thin. He's still unproven. But the hype alone is generating a buzz.
"The pitch right now is that you can get him while he's less expensive," said Kenneth Shropshire, the director of the Wharton Sports Business Initiative at Penn. "As he begins to build a name and gain some prominence, it's going to cost you more."
In deference to McNabb, Kolb has stayed in the shadows for 3 years. There have been offers, Nalley assures. Plenty of them. But the duo didn't want to pour gasoline on any potential quarterback controversy, especially as fans wondered whether it was time to move on from McNabb.
