Taylor's Death Boosts Redskins Merch Sales; Panthers Sales Down

Redskins Merchandise Sales Up Since Sean Taylor's Death

There has been a "regional and national rise in demand" for Redskins S Sean Taylor's No. 21 jersey and T-shirts since his death on November 27, according to Gillian Gaynair of the WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL.  Reebok VP/NFL Merchandising Kenny Gamble said sales for those items increased more than 180% from the time of Taylor's death to last week.  Before his death, he was "not even on the list of the top 50 NFL players" in terms of jersey sales.  Gaynair notes while sales of Redskins gear "had been flat all season" at the Sports Authority in Rockville, Maryland, the store's operations manager Kai Reed said, "If there was any shift (in sales) it was for the Sean Taylor jersey.'"  Raynair notes Redskins officials "created a special section on the team Web site for Taylor jerseys, T-shirts and other tokens" (WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL, 12/14 issue).

PANTHERS: Bank Of America Stadium Food & Beverage Manager Todd Smoots indicated that sales of NFL Panthers T-shirts, hats, jerseys and other merchandise are down 14% at the stadium, "the worst decline in his 10 years working at the facility."  Smoots: "Sales are way off and a big piece of that is on the jersey side.  There is no player to get behind. How many Steve Smith jerseys can you have?'" SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Don Muret notes the Panthers decided not to sell the No. 16 jersey of QB Vinny Testaverde, whom the team acquired in midseason, because Reebok "requires a minimum order of 288 in adult sizes." Smoots: "I knew we weren't going to sell that many" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 12/17 issue).