Outliers: The $4.5 million tweet

An innocent Twitter exchange back in February with Green Bay Packers star quarterback Aaron Rogers has thrust a Colorado travel nurse into the media spotlight.

Todd Sutton, a 37-year-old flight nurse at AirLife Denver, asked Rogers via Twitter if he believed that Ryan Braun, the All Star outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers (and Rogers' friend in the Wisconsin sports community) had taken performance-enhancing drugs. There had been much speculation surrounding Braun, who reportedly failed a drug test last year

Rogers quickly replied to Sutton on Twitter and offered up a wager: “Ya, I'd put my salary next year on it,” Rogers posted..

So it sounds a lot like Rogers bet a season's worth of pay, $4.5 million, that his buddy was clean and telling the truth. Now flash-forward to July with the announcement that Major League Baseball has suspended Braun without pay for the rest of the season, 65 games, for taking performance-enhancing drugs.

Seems like it would be time for Rogers to pony up. But the quarterback hasn't commented on the bet. However, Sutton has made his media rounds, granting interviews and appearing on TV shows to serve as the voice of the fan. He's not counting on being paid, but is claiming victory.“

He was probably trying to embarrass me on Twitter, but it has kind of reversed now,” Sutton said of Rogers in an interview with USA Today.

But there's one benefit for Sutton. Before Braun's suspension Sutton had about 15 followers on Twitter. That number is now more than 2,300.

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