Getty Cam Newton
Cam Newton’s New England Patriots jersey is a hot seller. In fact, it’s one of the top sellers in the NFL along with another player the Patriots know very well.
According to a recent report from Michael Rubin of Fanatics, Newton‘s Patriots jersey and Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ top are the highest-selling of any NFL jerseys with the vendor.
Brady has a lead by the slimmest of margins.
@TomBrady and @CameronNewton battling it out for top NFL jersey this week– I’ve never seen it this close! Excited for NFL to be back – let’s go!! Ps who ends up with #1 selling jersey after the weekend?
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The Likely Reason Cam Newton’s Jersey Is Such a Hot Item
Newton is one of the most polarizing players in sports–let alone the NFL. Few athletes inspire as much passionate debate as Newton. Whenever there is an athlete with that much influence and sway on fan opinion, they usually sell a ton of jerseys. Also, Patriots nation is huge.
Many of their fans support the team no matter what, and with Newton being the most high-profile addition to the team this offseason, he somewhat inherited a percentage of the team’s followers. Lastly, people love new things, and familiar faces in new places. Newton is a former NFL MVP who is now playing for one of the most storied and successful franchises in American sports history.
There’s a mystique to that concept.
The Reason Tom Brady’s Jersey Is a Hot Item
Getty ImagesTampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady
Like Newton’s situation, Brady is a familiar face with a new team, so there is some inherent excitement about his presence in Tampa Bay. He’s also arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history. He’s at least the most accomplished. An athlete with Brady’s trophy case has collected a legion of followers who will support him no matter what city he plays in throughout his career.
The Patriots fanbase is finding out what some Chicago Bulls fans found out during the late 1990s and early 2000s. There may be more Tom Brady fans than REAL Patriots fans, and thus his exit has weakened their affinity for the team. Same thing happened in Chicago when Michael Jordan left the team, and some fans couldn’t bear to watch the team without Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. Obviously, those Bulls teams immediately after the dynasty was broken up were dreadful, so let’s hope New England doesn’t sink to those depths.
One major difference is Bill Belichick and his coaching staff are still in place. When the Bulls dynasty was ruptured, head coach Phil Jackson and his staff left as well.
Whose Jersey Will Wind Up Being the Must-Have Item By the End of the Year?
If Newton stays healthy, I believe his story and journey through the 2020 NFL season will be one of the biggest and best of the year. He’s my pick to win Comeback Player of the Year, Belichick is my pick for Coach of the Year, I believe Josh McDaniels uses this as a springboard into his next head-coaching opportunity, and the Patriots win another AFC East Division title.
With all that happening, it doesn’t matter what Brady does in Tampa–short of going 14-2 and winning the Super Bowl–I think the Newton story will dominate and his jersey sales will ultimately be tops in the league.
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