WASHINGTON — Seahawks gear is flying off store shelves as the countdown to the Super Bowl continues.
Demand has shot up so much, merchandise producer Fanatics actually issued an apology to NFL fans struggling to get products they’re looking for.
“This Super Bowl matchup has created unprecedented challenges for us because of the massive surge in demand we saw from Patriots and Seahawks fans,” the company wrote in a statement on X. “Both teams went from missing the playoffs last season to being in the Super Bowl, an incredibly rare occurrence that led to these two fanbases buying nearly 400% more jerseys since Thanksgiving vs. last year.”
Fanatics said it is bringing in more team color jerseys daily and offering alternative options in the meantime.
The company noted that some fans have questioned the quality of the alternate jerseys.
“(We) can assure you that, despite some unflattering photos, these jerseys are identical to the standard Nike replica “Game” jersey – one of the highest consumer-rated items we carry built on the core template that has been unchanged since Nike took over NFL jerseys in 2012,” the company wrote, adding that customers can return products they aren’t satisfied with free of charge.
Locally, gear shops are also seeing products fly off shelves ahead of the Super Bowl.
“Some of the stuff that we get, we’re selling out of boxes straight to the customers,” said Tyrese Thrower, senior manager at Pro Image Sports. “We don’t have enough time to receive it or process it.”
The shortage of hot items has left some fans searching multiple locations over several days.
Kristine Raquel has been looking for a Kenneth Walker jersey for her 13-year-old son, Brayden.
She said the eighth grader has spent the entire year asking for that specific jersey featuring the Super Bowl patch.
“I’ve been at the team store for five days in a row and I’ve been coming to all these shops looking for it and that particular jersey is so hard to find,” Raquel said.
Pro Image Sports has been seeing a surge of demand on items including Jaxon Smith-Njigba jerseys, warm jackets and various Super Bowl-branded merchandise.
“We might be a little short on items, but we tell the customers, come back in to two, three days. We’ll have it for you,” Thrower said.
Major retailers are advising fans to use “restock alerts” on their websites to be notified when specific items return to stock. Fans may also look to resale markets, though prices could be higher than standard retail costs.
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