The inevitable Jadeveon Clowney action figure is real, and someone was willing to pay at least $47 for it

Go ahead and shake your head and express shock – shock! – that anyone is actually willing to go to such lengths over an outsized teenager who's not even out of high school yet, much less on track to fulfill the hype as a can't-miss star in the SEC. But if you followed any portion of Jadeveon Clowney's overheated recruitment to South Carolina, the existence of a homemade Jadeveon Clowney action figure on eBay shouldn't come as any surprise. Of course there's a homemade Jadeveon Clowney action figure on eBay. After the magazine covers and the documentary film crew and the nationally televised announcement on SportsCenter, how could there not be?

The actual posting for the figurine was removed overnight, after being spotted by Charleston Post and Courier beat writer Travis Haney on Tuesday. Before it went down, though, the high bid was reportedly above $47 – not bad for a crude plastic representation of an 18-year-old, but chump change compared to some of the other Clowney items still up for grabs, with asking prices as high as $300 for an autographed copy of ESPN Magazine with Clowney on the cover or $325 for a signed Wilson football ("RARE"). Again, assuming he qualifies academically and actually works his way into the rotation on the defensive line in preseason practices, Clowney will take the field for his first snap as a Gamecock in September.

As far as the NCAA is concerned, there's nothing to see here as long as a) The seller isn't bound by the NCAA rulebook, and b) Clowney and/or his family aren't seeing any profits or other tangible benefits from the exploitation of his name and likeness. South Carolina could theoretically sue for a trademark violation on the Gamecock logo and uniform, if it was worth it (it obviously is not). But in the end, the only person explicitly restricted from making money off the hype surrounding Jadeveon Clowney is still Jadeveon Clowney.

- - -
Hat tip: EDSBS.
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

Ashley Olsen Danneel Harris Veronika Vaeková Eve Brittany Lee