Oakland Raiders' Darren McFadden Named #1 NFL Rising Sports Star

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden has earned the top spot on Brand Affinity Technologies' monthly ranking of Rising Sports Stars. This special NFL-only edition of the list identifies football players with the most significant leaps in popularity during the previous 30 days – a solid indicator of early-season buzz as standout players emerge. McFadden led the league with 393 rushing yards in September, and has turned heads with plays such as a 70-yard touchdown run in the Raiders' victory against the Jets.

Buffalo Bills teammates Ryan Fitzpatrick and Fred Jackson round out the top three with strong performances as leaders in the AFC East with [3] wins, including a stunning victory over the New England Patriots during week 3 of the season. The full list and additional details are available at: www.brandaffinity.net/RisingStars/October2011.

"Darren McFadden's popularity has jumped 46 percent over the past month, and we expect marketers as well as fans will take notice," said Ryan Steelberg, CEO of Brand Affinity Technologies. "Our ranking helps identify hot talent at a point where they hold tremendous respect and influence among sports fans, but before they appear on cereal boxes. The return on investment for companies partnering with athletes at this stage is consistently high."

Brand Affinity Technologies (BAT) calculates daily consumer affinity based on a proprietary combination of media exposure, performance, awards, popularity, engagement, and fan base, among other indicators, for more than 45,000 athletes and celebrities.  The list identifies sports stars with the greatest leap in popularity over the prior 30 days. A meteoric rise may indicate a standout on-the-field performance, off-the-field achievement, or emergence from utility player to celebrity. 

NFL October Rising Sports Stars

(Details at: www.brandaffinity.net/RisingStars/October2011)

1. Darren McFadden       (Oakland Raiders)
2. Ryan Fitzpatrick         (Buffalo Bills)
3. Fred Jackson             (Buffalo Bills)
4. Jermichael Finley       (Green Bay Packers)
5. Jimmy Graham          (New Orleans Saints)
6. Calvin Johnson           (Detroit Lions)
7. Morgan Burnett          (Green Bay Packers)
8. Victor Cruz                (New York Giants)
9. Torrey Smith              (Baltimore Ravens)
10. Rob Gronkowski         (New England Patriots)

Rising Sports Stars lists go live at the start of each month; subscribe to BAT's Twitter feed at @BAT to learn when new lists are posted.

About Brand Affinity Technologies, Inc.  (BAT)

Founded in 2007, BAT (http://brandaffinity.net) unlocks the marketing power of celebrity through research, endorsements, and interactive experiences. Advertisers such as AT&T, Comcast, IHG, Intuit, Ford, Samsung and Sony use BAT's Endorsement Platform, which provides daily analysis of more than 45,000 celebrities and athletes, along with the ability to identify, license, and activate talent for cross-media advertising campaigns.  BAT has exclusive representation agreements with more than 4,000 athletes and celebrities. BAT also leverages its research and technology engine to engage consumers directly through Fantapper (www.fantapper.com), which brings interactive apps to celebrity content across the web. Connect with BAT on Twitter:@BAT and Facebook: www.facebook.com/BrandAffinityTech.

SOURCE Brand Affinity Technologies, Inc.