Sharpie S-Gel "Rookie of the Year"

Year three of the Sharpie S-Gel Rookie of the Year platform does not push forward. It goes back.

Rick Wayne built Rookie of the Year around a single observation: the first thing every professional athlete does is sign their name. Contract, ball, jersey, a kid's hat in the parking lot. The Sharpie is already in their hand. Year one turned that ritual into a spot. Year two stretched it across a full rookie season. Year three, titled "Author your legend," reaches underneath the trophy for the thing that made it possible.

The subject is Jeremiyah Love, a running back out of Notre Dame taken third overall in the 2026 NFL Draft and the creator of Jeremonstar. The film is not about the pick. It is about the father who coached him and the mental and physical reps that happened long before any camera showed up. Wayne frames the work that does not make highlight reels, on the argument that the highlight reels cannot exist without it. The Sharpie becomes the receipt for the hours.

The craft story runs parallel to the content. Across three years the platform's boards changed tools each season. Year one was AI frames stitched with found imagery because the technology was not there yet. Year two went deliberately analog: hand drawn frames in grayscale with green motion arrows. By year three the tools had caught up, and Wayne visualized the film in full cinematic AI, frame accurate to the cut. Three years, three sets of tools, one continuous idea.

Wayne directs and creative directs the platform, which is unusual and is the reason it holds together. The through line from 2024 to 2026 was not a campaign refresh each January. It was one territory, widened on purpose: a moment, then a season, then an origin.

The director's cut runs 1:04.