saw on another site, and saw how poorly cut it was, so I did it (I had it saved to my CPU anyway)
http://static.nfl.com/static/content/publi...d5d812f1fc5.jpg
lots of creativity in these. maybe pull some of the effects from several into one?
keep trying and posting here for ideas and criticism. if you ask for specifics, you're more likely to get helpful answers
not bad - you've definitely mastered the rounding off part.
there's still bg on most of these, especially on the arms (hair). I use the clone tool to rid that on the edges, as cutting deeper looks weird.
also, be careful of bg in shoelaces and watch the transition of the ball into the body...
i would say add depth to the render itself first. needs some kind of effect to make it pop. also, some texture/effects of right will help with the flow.
honestly, the Stafford text color doesn't fit well. it's not a compliment color to the red or blue - white with a blue or black border would...