The Detroit Lions have become good recently, and with that comes a natural rise in popularity in and outside of Detroit. That also naturally yields more merchandise sold with a Lions' logo on it, perhaps with some attachment to prominent players via jerseys, etc. that are bought with their name on it or depictling their likeness.
On Monday, the NFLPA released it's list of the top-50 NFL players by merchandise sales spanning from March 1, 2023 to February 29, 2024. Categories include, per the release, "trading cards, 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, pet products, and many more".
The ranking was determined by sales reported by over 85 NFLPA licensees like Fanatics, Outerstuff, Nike, Fathead, FOCO and Funko.
The top of the list is not surprising (Jalen Hurts-No. 1, Jason Kelce-No. 2, Patrick Mahomes-No. 3, Travis Kelce-No. 4), and the end of the list (Mac Jones-No. 50) is also surprising. Rounding out the top-10 is 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons
and Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
2 Detroit Lions make top-50 players in merchandise sales
Two Lions players made the top-50 list for merchandise sales-defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
It was surprising to see Hutchinson land in the top-20, at No. 18. St. Brown came in at No. 33, and as the 10th wide receiver on the list.
It's worth noting that the timeframe for this sales ranking is before the Lions released their new uniforms in April. So next year's list will surely reflect a significant spike based on that novelty, perhaps with a few more Lions' players (Jahmyr Gibbs?, Jameson Williams?, Sam LaPorta?, Penei Sewell?, Jared Goff?) entering the top-50 list on the strength of jersey sales.