- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 120,368
Dak Prescott accused of using machine to sign autograph
11:06 AM CT
Darren Rovell
ESPN Senior Writer
Dak Prescott is being accused of using a machine to sign his autograph for memorabilia company selling to collectors instead of signing himself.
An authentication service has refused to verify the Dallas Cowboys quarterback's signature in a recent card set.
Steve Grad, principal authenticator of Beckett Grading Services, said his company personally looked at five autographed cards from collectors who received a Prescott autograph redemption in Panini's 2016 Prizm set.
"They had a very machine-like feel," Grad said. "You could see the starts and stops."
The lack of natural flow in the perfect signatures led to Grad concluding that the signatures were done by autopen, a signature machine that has had a presence in politics since the late 1950s.
"I immediately knew they were autopen," Grad said. "I've never heard of a modern athlete doing this."
It's possible that Prescott never saw the cards, as blank labels to be signed and even cards themselves are often sent to marketing agents first.
Attempts to reach Prescott, his agent Jeff Guerreiro and his marketing agent Peter Miller were unsuccessful.
Messages left for Panini officials also went unreturned.
In May, Panini said that it had discovered that some of the autographed cards of Atlanta Falcons first-round draft pick Takkarist McKinley were not actually signed by him.
The company promised to send authentic autographs to customers that returned their McKinley signed cards.
11:06 AM CT
Darren Rovell
ESPN Senior Writer
Dak Prescott is being accused of using a machine to sign his autograph for memorabilia company selling to collectors instead of signing himself.
An authentication service has refused to verify the Dallas Cowboys quarterback's signature in a recent card set.
Steve Grad, principal authenticator of Beckett Grading Services, said his company personally looked at five autographed cards from collectors who received a Prescott autograph redemption in Panini's 2016 Prizm set.
"They had a very machine-like feel," Grad said. "You could see the starts and stops."
The lack of natural flow in the perfect signatures led to Grad concluding that the signatures were done by autopen, a signature machine that has had a presence in politics since the late 1950s.
"I immediately knew they were autopen," Grad said. "I've never heard of a modern athlete doing this."
It's possible that Prescott never saw the cards, as blank labels to be signed and even cards themselves are often sent to marketing agents first.
Attempts to reach Prescott, his agent Jeff Guerreiro and his marketing agent Peter Miller were unsuccessful.
Messages left for Panini officials also went unreturned.
In May, Panini said that it had discovered that some of the autographed cards of Atlanta Falcons first-round draft pick Takkarist McKinley were not actually signed by him.
The company promised to send authentic autographs to customers that returned their McKinley signed cards.