Are Prices Driving Up Sales of Counterfeit NFL, Sports Jerseys?

Many fans have noticed, this year especially, that the price of 'officially licensed' or 'real' NFL football jerseys has gone up quite a bit.

 A new study shows which sports are hurt most by counterfeit gear

 InGame is a newer resource, the top source says the company, for sports wagering including related legislation, business, and policy.

Recently, they released the results of a study about which sports teams between NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA and MLS (soccier) are hurt the most by counterfeit jerseys.

Since Nike got the NFL contract 11 years ago, a lack of competition has allowed them to continually raise prices. Their three-tiered level of jersey begins, on average, between $131 and $167 for a 'base' model that looks pretty much what the player wears. Then, there's the Limited Jersey that starts (bottom line) at $150, then there's the Elite model, which usually costs well over $300 to $350. These are supposed to be the exact same ones used by players.

And this season with Nike releasing the new NFL Rivalry series, those prices are only going to continue to climb.

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InGame used Brandwatch data, which analyzed millions of online sports merchandise conversations and comments about counterfeit merchandise by fans starting in May of  2024.  The comments were then broken down into positive and negative when it comes to how they view 'fake' memorabilia. And, they also charted which US states have the most chatter.

Which NFL teams' fan bases were the most against buying or utilizing counterfeit gear? The top 3 were 1) the Eagles, 2) the Cowboys, and 3) surprise! the Bengals.

The fan bases that commented or posted most favorably about less expensive fake NFL Gear?  1) LA Chargers, 2) the Bears, and 3) the Chiefs.

But whether fans are for or against the idea, authorities say jersey prices continue to escalate, driving more to the Black Market.

It has also been noted that years ago, a person could get a nearly carbon-copy NFL jersey from 'overseas' (China), and the average fan could not tell the difference. But over the last few years, the quality of the fake merch has dropped significantly to the point where the flaws, blems and imperfections are easy to spot.