FOOTBALL IN HIGH HEELS: TOM BRADY’S ON TOP AGAIN
HOUSTON (February 2, 2017) – Tom Brady once again claimed the top spot on the NFLPA Top 50 Player Sales List, based on total sales of all officially licensed NFL player merchandise from March 1 through November 30, 2016. The third quarterly Top 50 Player Sales List of 2016 is the first to include sales that took place during the 2016 football season.
Brady, who was the top-ranked player at the end of 2015, reclaimed the top spot from Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant. Bryant, who checked in at the third spot on the list, had held the No. 1 spot for the first two quarters of 2016 and was the first non-quarterback to ever reach the top spot. Cowboys teammate and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott rose to the No. 2 spot in the rankings behind Brady.
Elliott is the highest-ranked rookie on the Top 50 Player Sales List since the first quarter of 2015, when rookie Johnny Manziel of the Cleveland Browns topped the list.
Quarterbacks once again held steady at the top of the list with a total of six finding their way into the top 10 slots. Philadelphia Eagles rookie Carson Wentz (No. 5), Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks (No. 6), Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers (No. 7), rookie Dak Prescott of the Cowboys (No. 8) and Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers (No. 10) filled in behind Brady in the top 10.
The Cowboys placed three players in the top 10, and five in the top 14 spots, with Elliott, Bryant, and Prescott joined by Jason Witten (No. 13) and Tony Romo (No. 14). The Seahawks placed five players in the Top 50 Player Sales List for the third straight quarter. Next most among all teams were the Minnesota Vikings, with four players in the top 50. Four teams (Patriots, Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Oakland Raiders) had three players featured, while six other teams were represented with two players each.
As for first-timers on the Top 50 Player Sales List, the third quarter saw three new additions: Prescott, Vikings defensive back Harrison Smith (No. 41), and his teammate, wide receiver Stefon Diggs (No. 43). Diggs also made the jump from the 2016 NFLPA Rising 50 list, where he placed 33rd.
Continuing with the trend of the last two quarters, 17 quarterbacks once again found themselves ranked in the top 50. Wide receivers again were the next position most represented with 16 players. Nine defensive players were ranked for the second consecutive quarter.
The Top 50 Player Sales List is released quarterly by the NFLPA, via its licensing and marketing arm NFL Players Inc., and is based on overall sales of all NFL player licensed products via online and traditional retail outlets as reported by more than 80 NFLPA licensees, including Fanatics, Nike, VF Imagewear, Outerstuff, Forever Collectibles, Funko, Fathead, Hallmark, McFarlane Toys, OYO Sports, Bleacher Creatures, FBF Originals, Wincraft and more. Licensed product categories include men’s, women’s and youth game jerseys as well as T-shirts, wall decals, figurines, vinyl collectibles, bobbleheads, plush dolls, drinkware, socks, holiday ornaments, and novelties, among others.
Highlights from the NFLPA Top 50 Player Sales List:
- Tom Brady led overall jersey sales; Odell Beckham Jr., Russell Wilson, Cam Newton and Rob Gronkowski rounded out the top five
- Brady (Michigan) led all collegiate sales of men’s Nike jerseys; Marcus Mariota (Oregon) led collegiate co-branded sales in Fathead wall decals; Ezekiel Elliott (Ohio State) and Mariota led sales in collegiate sports photo collectibles from Photo File
- Brady led overall sales for OYO Sportstoys construction toy figures, followed by Dak Prescott and Elliott
- Wentz became the new No. 1 seller for player-identified caps from New Era and Lids
- Wentz also led sales of kids jerseys, fleece, and t-shirts from Outerstuff
- Pet jerseys – sold through Fanatics – were led by Wentz, followed by Rob Gronkowski, Beckham Jr., and Brady.
- Fanatics sales (including jerseys, apparel and headwear) were led by a trio of rookies in Prescott, Wentz and Elliott; Brady and Gronkowski rounded out the top five
- Antonio Brown, Beckham Jr., Brady, Miller and Wentz led jersey and apparel sales for Nike
- J.J. Watt once again led sales in double-wall insulated drinkware products from Williams Industry, Tervis and Dynamic Drinkware
Top 50 Player Sales List YTD (Mar. 1 – Nov. 30, 2016)
1. Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
2. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys
3. Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas Cowboys
4. Odell Beckham Jr., WR, New York Giants
5. Carson Wentz, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
6. Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks
7. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
8. Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
9. Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots
10. Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers
11. Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
12. J.J. Watt, DE, Houston Texans
13. Jason Witten, TE, Dallas Cowboys
14. Tony Romo, QB, Dallas Cowboys
15. Von Miller, LB, Denver Broncos
16. Derek Carr, QB, Oakland Raiders
17. Todd Gurley, RB, Los Angeles Rams
18. Luke Kuechly, LB, Carolina Panthers
19. Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland Raiders
20. Khalil Mack, LB, Oakland Raiders
21. Richard Sherman, DB, Seattle Seahawks
22. Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
23. Clay Matthews, LB, Green Bay Packers
24. Le’Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
25. Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay Packers
26. Julian Edelman, WR, New England Patriots
27. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals
28. Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans
29. Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
30. Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts
31. Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons
32. Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants
33. Navorro Bowman, LB, San Francisco 49ers
34. Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Minnesota Vikings
35. Jameis Winston, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
36. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans
37. A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
38. Jared Goff, QB, Los Angeles Rams
39. Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle Seahawks
40. Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos
41. Harrison Smith, DB, Minnesota Vikings
42. Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington Redskins
43. Stefon Diggs, WR, Minnesota Vikings
44. Jarvis Landry, WR, Miami Dolphins
45. Brandon Marshall, WR, New York Jets
46. Alshon Jeffery, WR, Chicago Bears
47. Kam Chancellor, DB, Seattle Seahawks
48. Carlos Hyde, RB, San Francisco 49ers
49. Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings
50. Jimmy Graham, TE, Seattle Seahawks
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