Dolphins rookie QB Tua Tagovailoa has the "top two selling jerseys on NFLShop.com" since the draft, with his aqua No. 1 the store's "top seller, followed by his home white No. 1," according to Keven Lerner of the South Florida SUN SENTINEL. Various Tom Brady Buccaneers jerseys "hold the No. 3 through No. 6 spots on the best-selling list," while one of Bucs TE Rob Gronkowski’s jerseys is No. 7 (South Florida SUN SENTINEL, 5/12). ESPN.com's Cameron Wolfe noted Bengals QB Joe Burrow is second on the rookie selling charts over the last two weeks, with his black Bengals jersey "ranking eighth, his orange jersey 11th and his white jersey ranking 15th." Chargers rookie QB Justin Herbert's powder blue jersey "ranks No. 12 since the draft" (ESPN.com, 5/11). NFL Network’s Peter Schrager said, “I look at the Dolphins’ fan base and how starved they are for a cool, marketable quarterback. … It’s all about Tua. Tua’s cool: He’s got a college pedigree, he brings a different style to what they do, he is a gamebreaker.” NFL Net's Kay Adams said Tagovailoa is the “biggest star since Dan Marino down there” (“Good Morning Football,” NFL Network, 5/12).
JERSEY SALES ON NFLSHOP.COM |
RANK |
PLAYER |
COLORWAY |
1 |
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa |
aqua |
2 |
Tua Tagovailoa |
white |
3 |
Buccaneers QB Tom Brady |
pewter alternative vapor |
4 |
Tom Brady |
white vapor |
5 |
Tom Brady |
red |
6 |
Tom Brady |
red vapor |
7 |
Buccaneers TE Rob Gronkowski |
pewter alternate |
8 |
Benglas QB Joe Burrow |
black |
9 |
Rob Gronkowski |
red |
10 |
Tom Brady |
pewter alternate |
SWEET DEAL: SI.com's Albert Breer wrote the instant marketability of the league's rookies is "another good example of why the NFL is so protective of its relationship with college football." Breer: "Not only does the NFL get more fully developed players, who’ve gotten great coaching, out of the brand-name programs that provide a de facto minor league, free of charge, the league also gets guys who are already stars that teams can sell" (SI.com, 5/11).
