AFL 50th Anniversary Merchandise Boosting Pats, Chargers Sales

Patriots, Chargers Seeing Boost Thanks To Commemorative Items

By Jessica Collins, Staff Writer

With the NFL this season celebrating the 50th anniversary of the AFL, the Patriots and Chargers are two of the original eight AFL teams seeing a boost in merchandise sales thanks to the commemorative products being sold. Kraft Sports Group Strategic Initiatives & Retail Operations Dir Brian Bilello said that the Patriots are currently seeing a 60% increase in merchandise sales compared to '08 because of the special AFL items. Bilello said the legacy and 50th-anniversary merchandise “hasn’t just cannibalized our throwback business but has added to it.” He added he believes that figure “will actually increase when the guys get on the field.” The assumption will not be hurt by the NFL's decision to allow the eight teams to wear retro AFL jerseys during two games this season, including both Bills-Patriots and Chargers-Raiders on Monday night. Meanwhile, Chargers Dir of PR Bill Johnston said that the team expects a 20-25% increase in online sales from throwback and anniversary merchandise this season, while the Chargers’ team store anticipates a 15-20% boost in sales. Johnston noted AFL apparel is selling at a three-to-one ratio compared to apparel with the team’s primary logo, while anniversary novelties are selling at a two-to-one ratio. Bilello feels merchandise sales will continue to rise once the season begins. Bilello: “We were expecting it to do pretty well to be honest because in our marketplace we have this old logo that’s pretty popular with our fans to begin with. For us, it was a really good opportunity to bring more light to that and get more people interested. I have to give a shout out to Reebok. They’ve done a very good job designing the merchandise around the throwback and legacy games. I think that’s certainly helped a lot of product move.” Bilello stressed, “If fans like anything they see I would suggest grabbing it when they can because it won’t be around next year.”

Raiders Selling Wide Range Of Anniversary Products Including Home Furnishings

BLASTS FROM THE PAST: Many of the original eight AFL teams are celebrating the 50th anniversary by selling products beyond the basic T-shirts and hats, including unique items such as earrings, flags, pennants and housewares. The Raiders are selling a wide selection of anniversary products including luxury items such as home furnishings and watches. Raiders Chief Exec Amy Trask said that consumer response has been very strong to date for the specialty items. Meanwhile, Bills Senior VP/Marketing & Broadcasting Marc Honan noted the Bills are selling close to three dozen items with the AFL anniversary logo, including a limited edition collector pin set from Wincraft. The team has also partnered with NFL Films and Warner Brothers to create a 50th Season commemorative DVD, which is available in retail stores throughout western New York as well as on Amazon.com. Honan declined to discuss specific figures but said the team’s initiatives surrounding the 50th anniversary “helped us to achieve record merchandise sales at Training Camp this season.”