Madden San Miguel, who is popularly known as “Baby Gronk,” recently made waves on social media following a photo with NCAA star Olivia Dunne.
This move was part of a strategic marketing plan orchestrated by his father, Jake San Miguel, as he disclosed to The Athletic.
Jake, who has extensive connections due to his background in marketing and sports, shared that these relationships have facilitated the promotion of his son, allowing the 10-year-old to visit nearly 20 college football programs already.
“I do marketing, man,” Jake explained. “It’s a brand. It’s a movement. I handle it all. I have friends who played in the NFL, who coach in the Power 5, and former high school teammates. I know people in charge of social media for various companies.”
Nicknamed after the retired NFL star Rob Gronkowski, “Baby Gronk” boasts over 300,000 followers on social media. However, a recent post raised controversy when it featured Madden with two scantily clad women, leading to criticism of Jake, who likely manages the account, for the inappropriateness of such content for a child.
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Despite the backlash, the ultimate ambition for Madden remains the NFL, but his father believes that building a strong personal brand now will open doors for his son to achieve whatever he wants in the future.
Jake also pointed out that Madden’s success isn’t solely due to his physical stature compared to other children his age.
As it stands, while Madden’s path to professional sports is still long, the groundwork being laid now is both ambitious and not without its challenges.
