Online retailer Fanatics said that in the 48 hours after Super Bowl XLVIII, sales of Seahawks gear were 200% better than those of Ravens items last year, and 150% "more than sales generated by Giants fans" after Super Bowl XLVI in '12, according to ESPN's Darren Rovell. Rovell said, "It has been a rough stretch for Seattle fans, losing the Sonics, losing the bid to get them back and many lean years for the Seahawks and the Mariners. But that's one of the reasons why fans have stepped up to the cash register to buy green and blue merchandise. It's also one of the reasons why you can't go anywhere in Seattle without seeing the Seahawks logo." Rovell cited Fanatics data as showing that from September through the Super Bowl, only Broncos QB Peyton Manning's jerseys sold better than Seahawks QB Russell Wilson's, and jerseys for Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch and CB Richard Sherman finished in the top seven in sales. In recent weeks, the "hype around Sherman allowed him to leap past" Packers QB Aaron Rodgers in jersey sales. Rovell: "Consider this: Before this year, no Seahawks player had ever finished the season in the top 10 since the league began collecting data for its best-selling jerseys in 2001. Another reason for the Seahawks' rise: The team was the only franchise to aggressively change its jersey when Nike came aboard as the NFL's official apparel supplier two years ago. The move paid off as the Seahawks became more of a national buy" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 2/5).
