Charging for Autographs

Many celebrities still enjoy signing autographs for free for fans, keeping it an interesting hobby. Hilary Duff has publicly lashed out at other teen idol stars who avoid autograph collectors.[citation needed] Art Carney was another person who enjoyed signing autographs until his death in November of 2003.

Many people are not willing to distribute their signature—at least not for free. Sports personalities in this category include most baseball players, including the majority of the New York Yankees, Joe Dimaggio, and most notoriously, Barry Bonds. Other sports stars who try to avoid signing whenever possible are Bill Russell, who does not sign at all in public and only sparingly at private signing sessions, and most NBA stars with huge contracts. Michael Jordan, would not and could not sign for most of his career because people's safety was at risk due to frenzied attempts to get his signature, which is worth hundreds of dollars. Jordan has frequently signed at more peaceful events, such as golf tournaments. It is also difficult to get Michael Jackson's autograph. A typical scenario is hundreds of fans in a crush waiting by Jackson's hotel, with Jackson signing five or ten autographs as he rushes to his vehicle.