Tom Brady Returns To No. 1 Spot On Year-End NFLPA Top 50 Player Sales List

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– NFLPA Top 50 Player Sales List is the only verified ranking of all officially licensed NFL player products and merchandise, sold by 70+ NFLPA licensees via online and traditional outlets, with retail sales exceeding $1.65 Billion –

– Philadelphia boasts five players in top 50, including Nick Foles’ return after two-year absence; Eight players jump from 2017 Rising 50 List, including Zach Ertz leaping all the way to No. 17; Antonio Brown breaks top five for first time; Adam Thielen, Jimmy Garoppolo and JuJu Smith-Schuster make debut on any sales list

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 19, 2018) – For the second time in three years, Tom Brady started and ended the season No. 1 on the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) Top 50 Player Sales List. The list is based on total sales of officially licensed NFL player-identified merchandise, tracking year-end results from March 1, 2017 through February 28, 2018. Brady also started and ended the year atop the list in 2016. Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott finished No. 2 for the second consecutive year.

Brady now joins Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson as the only quarterbacks to top the NFLPA’s quarterly Top 50 Players Sales List five times – twice as year-end retail kings. Wilson, who ranks No. 8, topped the year-end charts in 2014 and 2015. This also marks a record 12th appearance for Brady in the top three since the Player Sales List’s inception in 2014, and he has never ranked outside of the top nine.

Prescott, who held the top spot through the end of the third quarter, is joined in the top five by Ezekiel Elliott, at No. 4, who led the year-end list last year. In fact, the Dallas duo has now occupied two of the top four spots on the last five Top 50 Player Lists. The only newcomer to the top five is Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown, who made the jump to No. 5 from No. 7 on the third quarter list.

Quarterbacks once again led the offensive positions, with 18, including six among the top 10. Following Brady and Prescott, Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles (No. 3), Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers (No. 6), Wilson (No. 8) and Derek Carr of the Oakland Raiders (No. 10), who finishes in the Top 10 on the year-end list for the first time.

Wide receivers account for 14 players on the list, while running backs have six, and tight ends have four, along with one offensive lineman, the Steelers’ OT Alejandro Villanueva. On the defensive side, seven players made the year-end list, with Denver Broncos LB Von Miller the highest-ranked at No. 13. Houston Texans DE J.J. Watt is No. 15, while his brother, Steelers LB T.J. Watt ranks No. 40, the first time that brothers appear in the top 50 since Peyton and Eli Manning at the end of the fiscal year in 2016.

“It’s surreal seeing your name and face on these products, and then to be on the NFLPA’s best-selling players list is humbling,” said Oakland Raiders WR Jordy Nelson. “First and foremost, I have to thank the fans for all their support last year.”

The Eagles are the most represented team, with five players. In addition to Wentz (No. 3), TE Zach Ertz (No. 17), QB Nick Foles (No. 22), WR Alshon Jeffery (No. 43) and RB Jay Ajayi (No. 45) represent Philadelphia. This is the second straight year that quarterbacks from the same team appear on the Top 50 Players Sales List, since Prescott and Tony Romo appeared last year for the Cowboys.

In addition to Ertz, seven other players climbed from the 2017 Rising 50 to the Year-End Top 50 Player Sales List: Texans QB Deshaun Watson (No. 25), San Francisco 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo (No. 28), Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (No. 36), Chicago Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky (No. 37), T.J. Watt (No. 40), Ajayi (No. 45), and Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce (No. 46). The 2017 rookie class registered strong player retail sales throughout the season. Five rookies earn spots on the year-end list, led by Watson, Trubisky, McCaffrey, Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, and T.J. Watt.

The Top 50 Player Sales List is released quarterly by the NFLPA, via its licensing and marketing arm NFL Players Inc., and is based on overall sales of all NFL player licensed products via online and traditional retail outlets as reported by more than 70 NFLPA licensees, including Fanatics, Nike, Outerstuff, Forever Collectibles, Funko, Fathead, Hallmark, McFarlane Toys, Strideline socks, Wincraft and more. Licensed product categories include men’s, women’s and youth game jerseys and T-shirts, wall decals, figurines, toys, matted and framed photos, vinyl collectibles, bobbleheads, ugly sweaters, plush dolls, drinkware, socks, virtual goods, holiday ornaments and novelties, among others. For the fouth consecutive year, NFLPA licensees generated record retail sales, exceeding $1.65 billion during the year. The NFLPA is ranked as the 34th largest global licensor by License! Global.

Highlights from the NFLPA Year-End Top 50 Player Sales List:

  • Tom Brady led sales across a number of product categories including Forever Collectibles bobbleheads, youth sleepwear and Fathead wall decals; Odell Beckham Jr and Carson Wentz trailed Brady in Fathead sales.
  • Four of the top 6 leaders in women's jersey sales belonged to Dallas Cowboys players: Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Dez Bryant and Jason Witten.
  • Nick Foles sold the most drinkware product from Wincraft, 10 times more than any other player, and led in sales of t-shirts and hoodies from 500 Level.
  • Von Miller finished first for most adidas Texas A&M collegiate co-branded jerseys sold.
  • Five of the top 10 in Strideline socks sales were Eagles –Foles, Wentz, Chris Long, Jay Ajayi and Alshon Jeffery.
  • Aaron Rodgers, Odell Beckham Jr and Julian Edelman all ranked in the top 10 for Funko Pop Vinyl collectible sales.
  • Marshawn Lynch topped sales of women’s apparel from G-III.
  • J.J. Watt was a top seller of calendars from The Lang Companies.
  • Jason Witten finished behind Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers for most licensed cornhole boards sold from Wild Sports and Victory Tailgate.

Year-End Top 50 Player Sales List (March 1, 2017 – Feb. 28, 2018)

  1. Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
  2. Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
  3. Carson Wentz, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
  4. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys
  5. Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
  6. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
  7. Odell Beckham Jr., WR, New York Giants
  8. Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks
  9. Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots
  10. Derek Carr, QB, Oakland Raiders
  11. Marshawn Lynch, RB, Oakland Raiders
  12. Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas Cowboys*
  13. Von Miller, LB, Denver Broncos
  14. Jason Witten, TE, Dallas Cowboys
  15. J.J. Watt, DE, Houston Texans
  16. Khalil Mack, LB, Oakland Raiders
  17. Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles
  18. Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons
  19. Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
  20. Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers
  21. Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings
  22. Nick Foles, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
  23. Le'Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
  24. Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions
  25. Deshaun Watson, QB, Houston Texans
  26. Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
  27. Julian Edelman, WR, New England Patriots
  28. Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, San Francisco 49ers
  29. Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland Raiders
  30. Alejandro Villanueva, OT, Pittsburgh Steelers
  31. Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay Packers*
  32. Stefon Diggs, WR, Minnesota Vikings
  33. Richard Sherman, DB, Seattle Seahawks
  34. Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons
  35. Philip Rivers, QB, Los Angeles Chargers
  36. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers
  37. Mitchell Trubisky, QB, Chicago Bears
  38. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
  39. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals
  40. T.J. Watt, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers
  41. Todd Gurley, RB, Los Angeles Rams
  42. Luke Kuechly, LB, Carolina Panthers
  43. Alshon Jeffery, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
  44. Clay Matthews, LB, Green Bay Packers
  45. Jay Ajayi, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
  46. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs
  47. A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
  48. Jarvis Landry, WR, Miami Dolphins*
  49. Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants
  50. Jameis Winston, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

*Team listed indicates player’s team for sales during the 2017 season

About the NFL Players Association

The National Football League Players Association is the union for professional football players in the National Football League. Established in 1956, the NFLPA has a long history of assuring proper recognition and representation of players’ interests. The NFLPA has shown that it will do whatever is necessary to assure that the rights of players are protected—including ceasing to be a union, if necessary, as it did in 1989. In 1993, the NFLPA again was officially recognized as the union representing the players, and negotiated a landmark Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL. The current CBA will govern the sport through 2020.

About NFL Players Inc.

NFL Players Inc., the licensing and marketing arm of the NFLPA, connects businesses to the power of NFL players. NFL Players Inc. creates customized business solutions for partners, through licensing, marketing strategy and player activations. For more information, please visit nflpa.com/players.

Media Contacts:

Jenna Sobray, NFLPA, jenna.sobray@nflpa.com or 202-572-7458

Zach Hrubic, Coyne PR, zhrubic@coynepr.com or 212-938-0383