GEARING UP FOR PROFITS
Each year, Reebok, the NFL’s official apparel and uniform provider, delivers 300 world championship hats and T-shirts for each of the competing Super Bowl teams to the stadium. The losing team’s merchandise gets donated to a different pre-selected non-profit organization, usually outside of the United States.
Though it depends on the size of the winning team’s city, according to NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy, the average amount that retailers make on sales of merchandise is $100 million. The team that saw the highest profit was the Green Bay Packers, whose last year jersey sales reached the $130 million mark. They also held the previous record of $125 million, set in 1997. As the winners of the first two Super Bowls and a team with a history of having many fan favorites on its roster, the Packers will likely draw a huge amount of purchases from their dedicated fan base any year they win. Even with their large fan base, Green Bay comes in at a close second to the Steelers when it comes to overall best merchandise sellers.
As one of only five official on-site Super Bowl related merchandise retailers of the NFL, Sports Fan Marketing had 16 stores set up during last year’s game in Dallas. According to the company’s president Steve Sodell, set up for the 2011 competition between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers began in mid-November of 2010. Sodell shared that though he sells at several major sporting events year-round, the Super Bowl makes up about 60 percent of his annual income.