SI.com set off a spirited debate this afternoon when it reported The Who is to play halftime at next year’s Super Bowl in South Florida. Not to mention the short item on the Web site provided an opportunity to put up a photo of 2007 SI Swimsuit model Tori Praver, because her body-painted outfit featured a T-shirt with The Who logo. (Right, I’m not the demo).

No, it wouldn’t be the first time British Invasion senior citizens rocked the NFL’s big party. Paul McCartney did the honors in Jacksonville in 2005. The following year, it was the Rolling Stones in Detroit – a choice criticized for several reasons, including that the performers should have been Motown artists.

But overall, since the Janet Jackson nipple-bearing wardrobe malfunction in 2004 in Houston, Super Bowl halftime acts have tended to be less modern or as I said in a 2006 story “more American oldie than American Idol” although McCartney and the Rolling Stones would be “British oldie.” Same for The Who.

The NFL wasn’t talking about the choice today. “When we have something to announce, we will announce it,” a league spokesman said.

But the Twitterverse was buzzing:

The LA Times’ Sam Farmer wrote “SI.com reporting the Super Bowl halftime show is.... The Who. Excellent.”

However, John Halpin of FoxSports.com said “A band full of guys in their 60s? NO WAY!”

Or this from Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson: “Honestly, Janet Jackson's bare breast was the best thing that happened 2 bands formed B4 1990. They all became Super Bowl eligible again.”

Other tweets on the subject:

" jsquared021: "The Who" is doing the halftime show of Super Bowl 44?...r u serious?...what is the NFL thinking?"

"Soxy_T: I like The Who but playing Super Bowl halftime?! Zzzzzzzzz no wonder they call it the No Fun League"

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/sarahtalalay

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Dozens of volunteers for the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee were getting ready for the 2010 Pro Bowl and Super Bowl this afternoon at Land Shark Stadium. They were auditioning to be in an ad campaign promoting the two big games South Florida will host Jan. 31 and Feb. 7, respectively.

Ronin Advertising of Coconut Grove took headshots of the aspiring actors and actresses and then asked them to say three lines with all the “passion for football” they could muster:

“Are you ready for some football?”

“Come on down and hang out for the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl.”

“Will you own the moment, or will the moment own you?”

“I feel like Hank Williams Jr. here,” said Laurie Steele, of West Palm Beach, as she prepared to say her lines.

Ronin was looking for volunteers to represent the NFL’s 32 teams in TV, print and outdoor advertising. They’ll don jerseys and other NFL gear, such as a cheesehead hat for the Green Bay Packers fan. The fans will also be wearing shorts and flip-flops -- since the big game is returning to South Florida for a record 10th time -- and the Pro Bowl will be played here, too, rather than in Hawaii.

“Our goal is to get a cross-section of fans,” said Kristen Mathieson, a senior account executive at Ronin.

The ads are scheduled to be shot Aug. 11 and 12 and begin airing around the start of the 2009 football season. In the meantime, here’s the ad Ronin shot featuring Don Shula to promote Super Bowl XLI in 2007 – the last time the game was here.

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Just to re-cap and fill in some of the details from the NFL owners spring meeting at the Ritz-Carlton in Fort Lauderdale:

+ South Florida lost out to New Orleans – which was the favorite – to land the 2013 Super Bowl. South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee officials, who are preparing for the 2010 game and the Pro Bowl, are already planning to bid for the 2014 game. Typically bid packages go out in November and owners vote in the spring.

+ The league and the players association are to begin discussions for a new players’ contract next month, but NFL General Counsel Jeff Pash says he has no time frame for how long negotiations should take. The league opted out of the last two years of the current agreement meaning the deal ends in 2011 and the 2010 season will be played without a salary cap. Some owners believe the agreement, which guarantees roughly 60 percent of football revenues go to player salaries, isn’t working. NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith, who met with owners at their meeting Tuesday, said he isn’t sure why owners feel that way.

“We all know that the players didn't opt out of this deal. We do know that the NFL generated in excess of $8 billion last year. We know that the average team has grown by 400 percent in 10 years. We know that the average team is worth in excess of a billion dollars,” Smith said. “What we don't understand is what is wrong with the current deal when we know those facts exist? And if you want to move or start negotiations it seems to me that we need to understand why they believe that the current deal wasn't good.”

+ Owners didn’t vote on whether to extend the regular season to 17 or 18 games, but they discussed the issue. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell promised the players and partners would be brought in on discussions. Smith said the key to discussions is determining the average each team makes per game and considering why players’ salaries drop for playoff games.

“The players understand the cost to their bodies. The players understand how tough it is to get through a regular season,” Smith said. “They understand the cost. What they don't understand is when their playoff salary drops to $20,000 a game, what's the net profit for the team for that game? And once they understand that, then we can understand or at least be in a process to discuss what the right cost compensation model is for an extra game.”

+ The league reached agreement with Comcast to expand the number of homes that can view the NFL Network from 2 million to 10.8 million by moving the network from a higher pay tier to Comcast’s Digital Classic service. The league also reached agreements with CBS and Fox to extend their rights to broadcast NFL games by two years until at least 2013. Goodell said conversations are also taking place with NBC about an extension.

+ Owners voted Tuesday to allow teams to forge partnerships with their local and state lotteries to generate revenue. Team logos could appear on lottery tickets – as they do in other leagues (see Red Sox example at left) – but only for scratch-off or chance games. “It would not be based on the outcome of games,” Goodell said. “That’s a critical feature for us. We do think it’s responsive to pressures states are feeling right now to help meet some of those shortfalls, what we can do with states and our clubs, to be able to try to create some additional revenue, and I think it has been effective in other sports." The New England Patriots have already jumped aboard with the Massachusetts State Lottery.

+ Owners discussed possibly expanding the Rooney Rule, which requires teams interview at least one minority candidate for coaching positions, to include general managers.

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NFL, South Florida Super Bowl XLIV Host Committee and Dolphin Stadium officials officially unveiled the logos for next year’s Super Bowl and Pro Bowl on Wednesday.

They also announced the “Your Seat, Your Price” program that allows Dolphins season ticket holders to lock in the same seats they have during the season for the 2010 Pro Bowl at the same regular season price. Those tickets are to go on sale in July. Regular Pro Bowl subscribers (yes, apparently there are people who buy tickets to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii every year) also get priority. After that, the general public can buy tickets, starting in October, but anyone seeking tickets should register their interest now at miamidolphins.com/2010ProBowl.

Tickets for the general public are only expected to be slightly more than the Dolphins regular season price with most seats selling for less than $100, NFL Senior Vice President of Special Events Frank Supovitz said. The idea, he said, is to try to attract as many fans as possible, who might otherwise be shut out from the Super Bowl.

“There will be some people who will be lucky enough to score tickets to both, but by and large, it will be two different audiences,” said Supovitz, who was sporting a Super Bowl XLI tie honoring the last Super Bowl in South Florida in 2007. “The Super Bowl is a higher priced ticket, the Pro Bowl really is meant to be open to everyone, the whole idea was to bring more fans to the Pro Bowl and more fans to the stadium than we’ve ever been able to do.”

Next year, the Pro Bowl is being held Jan. 31 at Dolphin Stadium – marking the first time it’s being held outside of Hawaii since 1979 – a week before the Super Bowl, which we be played at the Miami Gardens venue on Feb. 7. The game will move back to Hawaii in 2011 and 2012. The game is expected to have a regular presence in Hawaii, but also could move to other cities in the continental United States, Supovitz said.

Pairing the two games together and holding the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl, Supovitz said, will provide the community with a longer period of football and festivities.

“Our hope is to capture the fervor and the passion of the football fan, while it’s still at its height,” Supovitz said.

He said the Super Bowl attracts as many as 150,000 visitors who pump $350 million to $500 million into the host community’s economy. He said he does not know the economic impact of the Pro Bowl, but it is expected to draw more local fans.

Other changes planned for next year’s events include an area called “NFL Plaza,” which will replace the NFL Experience theme park area just next year. The Plaza will be open on Pro Bowl Sunday and will serve as a gathering area for activities, merchandise sales and stadium tours. Supovitz said with the Super Bowl last in South Florida in 2007, the league wanted to provide different types of activities. Next year will be South Florida’s record-breaking 10th time hosting the Super Bowl.

The NFL Flag National Championship will be moved to January and South Florida – from November at DisneyWorld -- during the festivities with the winners among the 9- to 14-year-old players being honored on the field during the Pro Bowl. The region will also host Super Bowl Saturday Night – an event started in Arizona two years ago. The free night of football, fireworks and music is expected to attract tens of thousands of fans. The location has not yet been announced.

South Florida is competing against New Orleans and Arizona to host the 2013 Super Bowl. NFL owners will make a decision later this month.

But don’t expect a Super Bowl in London anytime soon, despite a number of reports. Supovitz said conversations have taken place with London officials about the bidding process, but nothing more.

“That’s where discussions began and ended,” he said. “We’ve had discussions with them. Nobody’s set any timetable. Nobody’s set any objectives to bring a game there anytime in a specific year. There’s been a lot reported there has been. None of those conversations have happened.”

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Next year’s Super Bowl is 289 days away, but the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee is preparing small businesses for work related to the game and its accompanying events, recruiting volunteers, and … planting trees.

This week, representatives of the NFL, Florida Division of Forestry, the Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, tourism and host committee officials and representatives of seven cities across the state have been planting slash pine trees. In Tampa, Lakeland, Sebring, Belle Glade, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and on Friday in Miami Gardens, tree planting ceremonies have been held to mark the Super Bowl’s “Trail of Trees.” The idea is to connect the site of this year’s Super Bowl – Tampa – with next year’s in South Florida.

“These tree plantings will symbolize a passing of the environmental mantle from one host community to the next and will mark the final environmental project of Super Bowl XLIII and the first environmental project for Super Bowl XLIV,” according to a release from the host committee.

Super Bowl XLIV is scheduled on Feb. 7, 2010 at Dolphin Stadium. The Pro Bowl will be played at the stadium a week before.

More than 20,000 trees have been planted during the past five years in a partnership between the league and the U.S. Forest Service. The league is trying to reduce its carbon footprint in Super Bowl host communities through recycling, using alternative fuels, and other efforts. The league has planted nearly 2,000 trees in all in Tampa this year.

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Just as broadcasters and columnists have been bashing tonight’s Arizona Cardinals-Pittsburgh Steelers matchup in Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, veteran sports marketing expert Bob Dorfman isn’t seeing a lot of Madison Avenue power in the players either.

In his annual Super Bowl Sports Marketers’ Scouting Report, Dorfman, who is executive vice president at San Francisco’s Baker Street Advertising, puts only Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger in the “touchdown” category of marketability.

“Though he lacks Peyton Manning’s charm and Tom Brady’s glam, Big Ben has a rugged, blue-collar appeal that matches well with any product that gets a tough job done without a lot of flash or hoopla—like power tools, trucks, deodorants, or cold and flu remedies,” Dorfman wrote.

Excedrin or Advil since he recently suffered a concussion, Dorfman suggests.

“And though a “Roethlis-burger” has been served in various Pittsburgh area joints, it may be time to take it national via McDonald’s or Burger King. In just his fifth year in the NFL, there’s no ceiling on Big Ben’s football—and marketing—future,” Dorfman said.

He gives “field goal” status to Cardinals QB quarterback Kurt Warner; Steelers safety Troy Polamalu and Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

“Warner’s rags-to-riches story—from supermarket to Super Bowl—would make a fine biopic, his large family would fit well in a minivan campaign, and his good looks could work handsomely for any men’s grooming product,” Dorfman wrote. “At 37, he may not be the best choice to appeal to the coveted “male 18-34” demographic, but for more mature audiences, Warner could be an effective pitchman—especially if he can lead his Cardinals to an upset win on Super Sunday.”

If you’ve been following the pre-Super Bowl advertising hype, you already know that Polamalu is featured in a Coke Zero remake – of sorts – of Coke’s famous Mean Joe Greene spot to air during the big game. Yes, the spot was made long before it was known Polamalu would be playing in the game.

“Intense on the field, soft-spoken off, Troy’s trademark flowing locks belong in a Pert shampoo ad. And the way he flies all over the field could qualify him for an American Airlines commercial, or a Dodge “Ram Tough” truck ad,” Dorfman said.

And then he asks, “And wouldn’t you love to see Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald together in an ad, getting hairstyle makeovers from Paul Mitchell?”

More hair spots for Fitzgerald, Dorfman says. “Fitzgerald’s signature dreads could make a compelling hair care demo, his great smile could sell Crest toothpaste, and his good hands could score big for Allstate. T-Mobile might even consider replacing Charles Barkley with Fitzgerald in their “Fave 5” campaign. How about a spot with T.O. trying to make it onto Larry’s shortlist?”

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FedEx isn’t advertising during Super Bowl XLIII on Sunday, but the express shipping company got nearly four hours of television exposure during this month’s FedEx-sponsored Orange Bowl and BCS national championship games at Dolphin Stadium.

That’s exposure valued at $383 million measured against television ad rates during the games – with the value during the BCS game being higher than the Orange Bowl game, naturally. According to Joyce Julius, which measures sponsor exposure, that value was calculated this way: $256 million from the BCS game in which Florida beat Oklahoma, and $126.8 million from the Orange Bowl game in which Virginia Tech beat Cincinnati. Joyce Julius reported FedEx got 51 mentions and an hour and 59 minutes of screen time during the BCS game and 59 mentions and an hour and 56 minutes during the Orange Bowl game.

Two other BCS bowl game sponsors scored higher values than FedEx did for the Orange Bowl game during their traditional bowl games this year. Tostitos received 43 mentions and an hour and 58 minutes of screen time during the Fiesta Bowl for a value of $138 million; Allstate received 45 mentions and an hour and 51 minutes during the Sugar Bowl for a value of $131 million. Citi, meanwhile, got 25 mentions and an hour and 21 minutes airtime during the Rose Bowl for a value of $111.4 million, Joyce Julius reported.

The Michigan firm's research shows other companies that received significant exposure time during the BCS game included Nike with a value of $61 million and Southwest Airlines with a value of $31.3 million.

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We’re still two weeks away from Super Bowl XLIII (Arizona Cardinals v. Pittsburgh Steelers) in Tampa but the host committee for next year’s Super Bowl is holding a kickoff event on Wednesday.

The South Florida Super Bowl 2010 Host Committee, the Riverwalk Trust and Junior Achievement are hosting a gathering at 5:30-8 p.m. at the offices of Tribeca Medaesthetics, 1425 W. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale.

The event, which will include hors d’oeuvres, cocktails and raffle drawings, will be an opportunity to express interest in and sign up for volunteer assignments during Super Bowl XLIV. The event is free for Junior Achievement supporters and Riverwalk Trust members, but costs $10 for others and requires advance registration at www.goriverwalk.com.

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After 12 straight years of advertising during the Super Bowl – and a presence in 18 Super Bowls since 1989 – FedEx is bowing out of the 2009 game. At an average price of $3 million for a 30-second spot, lots of companies are making difficult choices about television’s most expensive advertising. Read FedEx Director of Advertising Steve Pacheco’s reasoning here.

But FedEx is likely to get plenty of exposure during the next week, with its name attached to the 75th annual Orange Bowl game tomorrow night and the BCS National Championship game a week later on Jan. 8.

When the BCS added a fifth bowl game to the mix three years ago, not only did the national championship host location get an extra bowl game, the title sponsors did, too. The eight-figure four-year agreement with Fox to broadcast the BCS games includes a number of ads for the title sponsors during the games and promotion during other Fox broadcasts and in print and radio advertising. FedEx is also the “official overnight delivery service of the BCS.”

Eric Wright, vice president of research and development for Joyce Julius, which measures sponsor exposure, says the title sponsor earns more mentions during the non-championship bowl game, but the value from the national championship game is higher.

“It looks like the sponsor grabs slightly more onscreen time and mentions in their traditional bowl than the championship game, but the ad rates being what they are [in the national championship game] were higher,” Wright said.

For example, Allstate received 61 mentions and two hours and 42 minutes of screen time during this year’s Allstate Sugar Bowl for a total value of $172.4 million, when measured against ad rates during the game. The insurance company got just 50 mentions and one hour and 53 minutes of screen time during the BCS National Championship game, but that time was valued at $231.1 million, Joyce Julius reported.

By contrast, the title sponsors FedEx for the Orange and Tostitos for the Fiesta and presenting sponsor Citi for the Rose Bowl, received less value from their exposure, even if there were more mentions or screen time. Joyce Julius figures show FedEx received 48 mentions and an hour and 49 minutes of screen time for a value of $117.3 million. Tostitos got 61 mentions and two hours and 12 minutes of screen time for a value of $142.3 million. And Citi got 29 mentions and an hour and 42 minutes of airtime for a value of $107.4 million.

The trend was similar in 2007, the first year the fifth game was added to the BCS rotation. Tostitos got 86 mentions and two hours 10 minutes of airtime for a value of $101.2 million for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. For the BCS National Championship game, the company got 36 mentions and an hour and 50 minutes of airtime for a value of $175.3 million.

Meanwhile, Fedex received 66 mentions and one hour and 55 minutes of airtime for a value of $88.6 million; Allstate received 56 mentions, an hour and 58 minutes of screen time for a value of $89.6 million; and Citi got 26 mentions and just 16 minutes of air time for a value of $26.6 million from the Rose Bowl.

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The NFL made it official Tuesday that the Pro Bowl will move a week before the Super Bowl and be played at Dolphin Stadium in 2010. Future sites for the game, which has been held in Honolulu since 1980, have not been determined, but the intention is for it to be played in Hawaii on a rotating basis, the league said. Read the Dolphins news release about the move here.

“We are looking at alternatives to strengthen the Pro Bowl,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “We will continue to work with the players to make it a great event and will evaluate the concept after the 2010 Pro Bowl.”

The 2010 game will be held at 8 p.m. Jan. 31 and will be broadcast on ESPN. Super Bowl XLIV will be held a week later on Jan. 7, also at Dolphin Stadium. The idea of moving the game from Hawaii and holding it before -- rather than after -- the Super Bowl has been contemplated by the league for a couple of years.

“Taking the Pro Bowl to new locations can showcase our top players to more fans around the country," NFL Senior Vice President of Events Frank Supovitz said in a statement. "We are also in discussions with key leaders in Hawaii to continue our partnership with the State of Hawaii, which has embraced the Pro Bowl for 30 years.”

South Florida tourism officials were asked to prepare for the possibility of the game moving, by lining up hotels and other accommodations. They say the game could pump another $150 million into local businesses on top of the economic impact from hosting the Super Bowl.

The Pro Bowl’s annual ticket subscribers, Dolphins season ticket-holders and members of the public will have a chance to purchase tickets. Would you want to attend?

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The NFL hasn’t officially announced the Pro Bowl will move a week before the Super Bowl and to South Florida from Honolulu in 2010, but tourism officials say they’ve been told to plan for the possibility.

The Associated Press reported the news Monday. The NFL, which has a contract to play in Hawaii through the 2009 game, said the decision hadn’t been made yet.

"Plans for future Pro Bowls are not final, but we have stated publicly several times that we are giving strong consideration to moving the Pro Bowl to the week before the Super Bowl,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said. “We also have been exploring playing future Pro Bowls at the site of the Super Bowl as well as in Honolulu, host of the Pro Bowl since 1980.”

With South Florida already gearing up to host its 10th Super Bowl in 2010, the possibility of a Pro Bowl at Dolphin Stadium, too, is welcome news. Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau President Nicki Grossman said the Pro Bowl could mean an additional $150 million for local businesses on top of the impact from the Super Bowl.

“We were told to prepare to have venues and hotels available for a first-ever since 1980 move out of Hawaii by the Pro Bowl. We are ready, willing, able, excited and determined to make this a spectacular two weeks of great football in South Florida,” Grossman said. “We have huge beach shoes to fill. Hawaii has been a consummate host. We’ve got a go a long way to go to match that experience, but we are certainly a place that can do that.”

Grossman called the idea of NFL converging on South Florida for both events, “an opportunity to take a one-week spectacular and turn it into a two-week spectacular.”

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Turns out that rapid Super Bowl ad buying recorded in September has slowed down significantly. NBC says it has eight 30-second spots still available during Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa on Feb. 1.

NBC, broadcaster of the 2009 game, says about 59 spots during the game have been spoken for and are running about $3 million each. That’s up from about $2.7 million last year. But the company also told the Associated Press it is negotiations for the remaining spots.

Regular Super Bowl advertiser General Motors announced in September it would skip the Super Bowl. FedEx Corp., Garmin Ltd. And Salesgenie.com are also not buying ads this time.

Monster Worldwide, however, which hasn’t bought an ad since the 2004, game will be back and competing with ads from CareerBuilder.com. Probably not a bad spend, given how many people have lost their jobs and are looking for work.

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Luckily, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning’s performance in Super Bowl XLII was clutch. Manning, a Gatorade endorser since 2005, is featured in an ad for the sports drink’s new “League of Clutch” campaign that promotes athletes who make the plays that win games, in spectacular fashion.

The new ad, which began airing Wednesday, includes images from the Giants’ final drive that led to the team beating the undefeated New England Patriots and, of course, an image of the Gatorade being dumped on Giants Coach Tom Coughlin. Some expect Manning to continue to be in demand from Madison Avenue.

Gatorade is also auctioning five Giants commemorative Super Bowl bottles autographed by Manning on eBay.com. Proceeds from the auction, which runs through Sunday, will benefit the United Way.

Other League of Clutch athletes include Eli Manning’s brother Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, Heat guard Dwyane Wade, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and 2008 Australian Open champion tennis star Maria Sharapova.

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The University of Phoenix has received media exposure worth as much as $20 million from its naming rights sponsorship of the Glendale, Ariz., stadium where Super Bowl XLII unfolded, according to Joyce Julius & Associates.

The Michigan firm that measures the impact of corporate sponsorship figures the actual game broadcast generated a value of $10.2 million from the 1 minute and 33 seconds of time the online university's name appeared on screen and two announcer references to it. That’s measured against the average $2.7 million companies paid for 30-second ads that aired during the game broadcast.

The firm says the university got another $6 million worth of exposure from media stories and another $4.5 million of exposure from hosting the BCS national championship game last year.

The $10.2 million game exposure is down from $13.6 million for Ford when the game was played at Ford Field in Detroit in 2006 and up from the $2.1 million for Alltel, when the game was played at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville in 2005, Joyce Julius reported.

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So, will Super Bowl XLII Champion New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning challenge his brother Peyton for ad time after pulling off his team’s stunning upset of the New England Patriots on Sunday?

“Eli couldn’t have scripted a better finish for his marketing success,” says Bob Dorfman, of San Francisco-based Baker Street Partners and author of the Super Bowl XLII Sports Marketers’ Scouting Report. Dorfman says the Super Bowl win could be worth as much as $5 million in new endorsement deals. “Though Eli lacks the cachet, charisma and acting chops of big brother Peyton, he shows solid potential as a potent pitchman.”

Dorfman figures Manning, who already has deals with Oreo (you've no doubt seen the Eli and Peyton pitching Oreo's Double Stuff Racing League), DirecTV and ESPN, could do ads for T-Mobile “everyone will want to be in his Fave 5 now,” a car deal, or fast food, where he could promote a “Giant-sized” deal. "As the new toast of New York, Eli could also earn seven figures in regional marketing deals,” Dorfman said.

Other marketable Giants able to capitalize? “Michael Strahan stands to benefit the most after Eli. He’s already a household name and face, has a proven endorsement resume, speaks well, is charismatic on camera, and has that signature gap-tooth smile that might be fun in a Crest toothpaste ad,” Dorfman said. “He also has a solid future in broadcasting.”

And “Plaxico Burress could land a Kleenex deal after his teary post-game interview,” Dorfman said.

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Shaquille O’Neal. Dwyane Wade. Danica Patrick. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Carl Edwards.

Plenty of athletes will be appearing in the most expensive advertising of the year during Fox’s broadcast of Super Bowl XLII on Sunday. The price is averaging $2.7 million for a 30-second spot, up from $2.6 million last year.

O’Neal plays a jockey in a first-ever Super Bowl ad for Glaceau’s vitaminwater. Wade and Charles Barkley are in the latest installment of the T Mobile ad campaign, where we’re supposed to learn if Barkley will finally let Wade into his “Fave 5.” Earnhardt is scheduled to appear in an ad for new sponsor, Pepsi Amp. Patrick will be in another ad for GoDaddy.com.

Under Armour, which is also making its first entry into the Super Bowl ad world, has included more than two dozen athletes for the company’s new line of non-cleat athletic shoes that debut in May. In addition to Edwards, other athletes in the 60-second spot include Ray Lewis, Alfonso Soriano, Garret Atkins, Vernon Davis, Kimmie Meisner and Cat Osterman. Super Bowl XLII participant, Brandon Jacobs of the New York Giants also appears.

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Heat center Shaquille O'Neal will make his debut in a vitaminwater ad during Super Bowl XLII as a ... jockey. Yep, the 7 foot 1, 325-pound O'Neal sports jockey silks and rides a horse in the 60-second spot, which is being kept under wraps until it airs at the beginning of the third quarter of Sunday's game on Fox. In the meantime, check out O'Neal in his silks, courtesy of vitaminwater maker Glaceau.

O'Neal became a vitaminwater endorser and investor last year, appearing on 32-ounce bottles of power-c flavor. He has been wanting to appear in one of the company's off-beat ads. In fact, he came up with the idea for the spot.

"I grew up in Texas, so I'm no stranger to riding horses, but I've always wanted to try being a jockey in an actual horse race - so vitaminwater and I decided to give it a try," O'Neal said in a statement.

It didn't hurt that Glaceau President Mike Repole is among the top 50 race horse owners in the country.

WADE AND BARKLEY

Meanwhile, Heat guard Dwyane Wade and Charles Barkley continue their T-Mobile ad campaign during the Super Bowl. The company is running this teaser ad on YouTube encouraging the public to tune in to find out if Wade will finally make it into Barkley's "Fave 5":

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