What determines a player’s popularity? How many fans buy their jerseys is one way to tell. On the NFLPA’s recent list of top selling players, there’s one current New York Giant and one former one.
The top 15 among all officially licensed product sold:
- Patrick Mahomes II, QB, Kansas City
- Tom Brady, QB, New England
- Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas
- Baker Mayfield, QB, Cleveland
- Odell Beckham Jr., WR, Cleveland
- Khalil Mack, LB, Chicago
- Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay
- Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas
- Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants
- JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh
- Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans
- Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore
- Carson Wentz, QB, Philadelphia
- Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle
- Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, San Francisco
Beckham’s change of teams form the Giants to the Cleveland Browns surely drove up his sales, while Barkley was a red-hot commodity coming off his stellar rookie season.
How are these numbers arrived at?
The NFLPA Top Player Sales list is the only verified ranking of all officially licensed, NFL player-identified merchandise sold from online and traditional retail outlets as reported by more than 75 NFLPA licensees, such as Fanatics, Outerstuff, Nike, Fathead, FOCO, Funko, Wincraft, and more. NFLPA-licensed product categories include video games; men’s, women’s and youth game jerseys; T-shirts and hoodies; backpacks; wall decals; pennants; collectible figurines; matted and framed photos; bobbleheads; plush; drinkware; and pet products, among others. NFLPA licensees have generated record retail sales in each of the last five years, exceeding $1.6 billion during the 2018 season.
Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones is No. 27 on the list. Jason Witten, who left the game for year in 2018 for the broadcast booth only to return this season, is No. 40. Rob Gronkowski retired before the season and clocked in at No. 48.
