Ohio State Univ. QB Braxton Miller's season-ending shoulder injury is "leaving some Buckeye-themed retailers sitting on thousands of dollars in inventory seemingly destined to sit on shelves for a long time -- maybe a year," according to Tim Feran of the COLUMBUS DISPATCH. Columbus-based retailer College Traditions Owner Kelly Dawes said, “People want the numbers that are on the field." She added that the store has an "inventory of more than 1,000 No. 5 jerseys." Given that they "sell for between $90 and $140 each, that single store could miss out on about $100,000 in sales if the merchandise doesn’t move," and they "can’t give back the jerseys to Nike." However, OSU "isn’t likely to feel the effects of a decline in jersey sales." OSU Senior Dir of Media & PR Gary Lewis said this unusual circumstance is likely “not significant in terms of percentages.” Feran notes the jerseys are "expected to be sold sooner or later." Dawes: “We’ll sit on them. Hopefully, they’ll redshirt him this year, and he’ll be back next year.” Dawes said that a "possible saving grace ... is that, 'because of NCAA rules, you can’t print names. They are No. 5 with no names'" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 8/21).
