Raiders RB Marshawn Lynch had the "No. 1 selling jersey in May" on NFLShop.com and was the "top buy in more than a dozen states, mostly on the west coast," according to Michael-Shawn Dugar of SEATTLEPI.com. Lynch's No. 24 was also the "most popular jersey in Iowa, Indiana and Kansas." Lynch ranks ahead of Patriots QB Tom Brady, Cowboys QB Dak Prescott and Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott (SEATTLEPI.com, 6/12). In L.A., Chuck Schilken notes free agent QB Colin Kaepernick has "yet to land a job with another team," but his jersey with the 49ers was the "17th bestselling jersey in May." His jersey "ranks eighth in sales" among QBs, placing higher than the Falcons' Matt Ryan, Seahawks' Russell Wilson, Panthers' Cam Newton and Saints' Drew Brees. At one point last fall, Kaepernick's jersey "ranked as high as No. 5 in league sales" (L.A. TIMES, 6/13). Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio said of Kaepernick's jersey sales, "There's so much talk about the negativity Kaepernick would bring to a team. No one ever mentions the positivity he would bring to a team. You slap him in a new team's jersey, they are going to sell, they are going to sell. Maybe all of the fans that you would potentially turn off are going to be balanced out or surpassed by the new fans you would attract, and last time I checked, these businesses are for profit and in the business of making as much money as possible" ("PFT," NBCSN, 6/12).
