ATLANTA — For the next two weeks, football fans are going to learn a lot more about the Atlanta Falcons, who will face the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl on Feb. 5.

Quarterback Matt Ryan will receive most of the attention, and for good reason: He leads the NFL’s best offense and has emerged as a top candidate for the MVP award. On Sunday he added to his credentials, passing for 392 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for an additional score in Atlanta’s 44-21 win over Green Bay.

Ryan had a lot of help, of course. Julio Jones, one of the league’s top receivers, caught nine passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns, including a 73-yard score that effectively sealed the win for the Falcons.

Jones and Ryan have an undoubted value on the field and among fantasy football fans, but a teammate, wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, has value in an additional place — on the stock market.

Sanu is one of a handful of NFL players who was paid a hefty upfront fee by a company called Fantex Holdings in return for a share of his future earnings.

The company formed a trading exchange several years ago on which investors could buy and sell shares of a tracking stock tied to an athlete’s financial performance and which rises or falls based on the athlete’s perceived value.

The idea was to create a chance for investors and fans to cash in on a player’s rising fortunes, whether it be a new contract, a sponsorship deal or other sources of income related to his football career.

The former Houston Texans running back Arian Foster was the first player to cash in. After an initial public offering (IPO) of his stock, he received $10 million in return for promising to pay Fantex 20 percent of his future earnings. Foster’s star soon faded, though. After gaining more than 1,200 yards in 2014, he struggled with injuries and retired this past October.

Chicago Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, Washington Redskins tight end Vernon Davis and Buffalo Bills quarterback E.J. Manuel are among the other players with Fantex stocks.

Sanu, though, is the only one still playing this season. Depending on his performance in the Super Bowl, his stock, which trades on the secondary market under the ticker SANUL, could rise if, say, he landed a big sponsorship deal. Buying shares in his stock might also be a way for fans to place an unconventional bet on the potential success of the Falcons, without going to a bookmaker.

After Sunday’s game, Sanu laughed and shrugged when asked about the potential effect on his stock price.

“It feels awesome,” he said, standing two lockers over from Jones’ locker.

Sanu, 27, spent his first four seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, who selected him in the third round of the 2012 draft.

Based on his “brand value,” fans bought 164,300 shares at $10 a share in an IPO in 2014, and Sanu received $1.56 million. In July 2015, Fantex paid Sanu shareholders a dividend of 20 cents a share.

“Our business is acquiring future cash flows from athletes and working with these athletes to develop their audiences to help increase their future earning opportunities,” Buck French, a co-founder of Fantex, said in a statement announcing the dividend.

The value of the stock shot up in March — from $9.50 to $11 — when Sanu signed a five-year, $32.5 million contract with the Falcons.

To the Falcons, part of Sanu’s value is providing Ryan an alternative to Jones, who is often heavily covered by opposing defenses. Thanks in part to all the attention Jones receives, Sanu caught 59 passes for 653 yards and four touchdowns this season.

“You’ve got Julio, you’ve got Sanu, and you’ve got Matt spreading the ball everywhere,” Falcons defensive end Dwight Freeney said. “I’m glad I don’t have to play all of them.”

Early in Sunday’s game, Ryan zeroed in on Sanu, who caught five passes for 52 yards. The biggest catch came on the opening drive when Ryan, under pressure, flipped a 2-yard pass to Sanu, who caught the ball with his right hand and fell to the ground in the end zone for the first score of the day.

“It was Matt being Matt,” Sanu said.

Coach Dan Quinn said he appreciates having so many offensive weapons.

“That’s a special guy and he came up big,” Quinn said. “Julio does his thing, but Sanu does his thing, too, and we need it. We need all of that.”

Even if the Super Bowl does not provide a bump in Sanu’s stock price, the Super Bowl will provide an additional payday: The winners each receive $107,000, and the losers $53,000 apiece.