NFL Hard Knocks 2013 - Recycling of Cincinnati Bengals game jerseys.

[ivo610]

I just watched the final episode of this year’s NFL Hard Knocks with the Cincinnati Bengals. It showed footage of nameplates being removed from all the game jerseys of the players who didn’t make the team during the final cuts to make the 53 man roster. As a collector of Cowboys game jerseys myself, this was uncomfortable viewing.

I know teams do this plate-change now and again and more commonly issue players with unused jerseys from previous years. For example a player could have worn a 08 tagged jersey in 2011. But in this Hard Knocks episode every jersey for every cut player had the nameplate removed so the jerseys could be recycled and used for future players that join the team.

Now these weren’t star players by any means, but surely you Bengals fans would have loved to have bought those game jerseys for your collections, even though they were just game used or game issued pre-season jerseys of the bottom tier players on the roster. Fullback John “The Terminator” Conner was cut from the team, but his game jersey would have been a nice addition to any collector of Bengals gamers. Or what about Aaron Maybin, an 11th overall pick by the Bills a couple of years ago, and a huge bust. I’m sure collectors of NFL gamers of former Penn State players would have snapped that one up. I sure did wince a bit as those CONNOR and MAYBIN nameplates were unstitched.

With the way the economy is these days, all businesses want to save money. So will this extreme recycling of game jerseys by the Bengals and other NFL teams become more prevalent in the future? I sure hope not! I know these were bottom tier players, but a game used jersey is still a game used jersey. I would have thought the teams would make more money selling these jerseys on via NFL Auctions, auction houses, companies like Steiner, the team Proshop or the team tent sale etc, than Nike would charge them to make new one’s etc.

NFL auctions is for charity. They dont make money off of things there to my knowledge.
What auction house is going to want a bunch of players who never played in a regular season game? What, sell every teams leftovers? So 700-1200 jerseys? That will drastically lower the profile of any auction house. The cost to put a $50 item up for auction? yeah its not going to be worth the $20 they would get out of the few that sold. It would be a mess. The labor involved would be crazy.
Steiner terminated their deal with the cowboys because they couldnt sell lower tier players that actually played in games. The business model doesnt work.
Tent sale or Team store? Maybe but I already see NFL teams with game jerseys from no name players that are sitting on their website with no interest. Ebay is cluttered with them too, last week it was a bunch of panthers jerseys. Cowboys are one of the biggest fan bases in the league and their jerseys from no name players are a dime a dozen.
Teams recycling jerseys is the best for business, its quick and easy, and doesnt cost them anything other than the few moments of labor.

[Anabolicollege17]

Scottish those jerseys have very little value. They are all bumbs. And John Connor is the biggest imo... I don't think its worth the Bengals time to sell them.

[scottishcowboy41]

Scottish those jerseys have very little value. They are all bumbs. And John Connor is the biggest imo... I don't think its worth the Bengals time to sell them.

I think any 2013 Nike game used jersey would have some decent value because of the recent move from Reebok. I don't see any 2012 or 2013 Nike gamers anywhere for sale for next to nothing.

We all have opinions on players. Not quite sure I agree Connor is a bum. He just joined the league 10 years too late, where real fullbacks are becoming extinct.

[Texans]

Dont the team pay Nike for the jersey? If that is the case I can see why teams recycle jersey. Why waste there money if they can reuse it. Not worth it to sale a player cut from the roster for $100

[PAC]

I think any 2013 Nike game used jersey would have some decent value because of the recent move from Reebok. I don't see any 2012 or 2013 Nike gamers anywhere for sale for next to nothing.

Hopefully supply catches up with demand soon.

I want a new 2012 or 2013 Panthers team issued or game used...but the cheapest I've seen is a Gary Barnidge for $900 lol.

[commando]

All points are well-taken and respected.

I love dealing with football jerseys from the 1970s and 80s. When you find one of these shirts, there MIGHT be a 50/50 chance that an original team-issued nameplate is on the back. And even if one is, when you inspect closer there's another chance that you'll find that more than one nameplate had been sewn on during the jersey's lifetime.

One of the odder examples I've seen was a jersey a forum member owned. If I remember correctly it was a Baltimore Colts jersey with mid-1970s Sand Knit tagging, and it had a nameplate of a guy who played for the team in the mid-1980s! You have to wonder how many different players wore the shirt over the years, or if just one other player did, which one was he?

To be honest, I thought the era of recycling jerseys was just about gone. But now it seems that teams cannot move the common stuff for a profit, so they do indeed recycle common jerseys that show little or no use.

One final note... It appears that the numbers just aren't working with the companies who try to do large team buys. Obviously many teams are getting either no offers at all, or offers that are too low to accept so they recycle the commons. All that glitters ain't gold anymore.

[skinsfan0521]

First, I was thinking the same thing when I watched that episode... "Nooo... don't they know they can sell those??!!"

But, the more I thought about it (and read this thread), it probably doesn't make financial sense. They must be paying $100-$100 each for these jerseys, right? So, then to sell some common guy who wasn't even good enough to make the team for $75 doesn't make sense. They could just re-issue those jerseys to the guys who aren't going to make the team next year and save themselves thousands of $ overall.

Second, to follow up on several comments (including commando's most recent one), it does seem odd that every team doesn't have an "official memorabilia retailer" for their stuff. Just a few short years ago, it seemed that every team was available. Now, I'm looking for NY Giants (Chris Snee) stuff for the past couple years and there is absolutely nothing out there. It must be because of the lack of profitability. I mean, when you look at Meigray's prices for Redskins jerseys it's just crazy. They're asking no less than $750 for game used jerseys. Some of these guys wouldn't sell for $150 on ebay, but they're asking $750 presumably because they need to in order to make a profit. Why else would you just let inventory sit on your shelves for super inflated prices unless you were going to lose $ on anything less?

With all that being said, when I asked Snee if I would be able to get a jersey from him last year he said that I wouldn't be able to. This year he said maybe, but I'll have to wait until the end of the year to see. These are not the same responses that he's had before when the Giants were openly selling their stuff through their own website or other channels.

Also, you'd think that if it were possible to squeeze a $ out of selling anything, Jerry Jones would have found a way. Yet, even the Cowboys-Steiner relationship has dissolved and nobody knows where to find Cowboys gamers anymore.

At the same time that all of this is going on, there are jerseys going for record prices and Panini has locked up the Broncos and selling Manning jerseys for like $20k each.

There must be a lot more to the economics of it than us outsiders are aware of.

[ivo610]

First, I was thinking the same thing when I watched that episode... "Nooo... don't they know they can sell those??!!"

But, the more I thought about it (and read this thread), it probably doesn't make financial sense. They must be paying $100-$100 each for these jerseys, right? So, then to sell some common guy who wasn't even good enough to make the team for $75 doesn't make sense. They could just re-issue those jerseys to the guys who aren't going to make the team next year and save themselves thousands of $ overall.

Second, to follow up on several comments (including commando's most recent one), it does seem odd that every team doesn't have an "official memorabilia retailer" for their stuff. Just a few short years ago, it seemed that every team was available. Now, I'm looking for NY Giants (Chris Snee) stuff for the past couple years and there is absolutely nothing out there. It must be because of the lack of profitability. I mean, when you look at Meigray's prices for Redskins jerseys it's just crazy. They're asking no less than $750 for game used jerseys. Some of these guys wouldn't sell for $150 on ebay, but they're asking $750 presumably because they need to in order to make a profit. Why else would you just let inventory sit on your shelves for super inflated prices unless you were going to lose $ on anything less?

With all that being said, when I asked Snee if I would be able to get a jersey from him last year he said that I wouldn't be able to. This year he said maybe, but I'll have to wait until the end of the year to see. These are not the same responses that he's had before when the Giants were openly selling their stuff through their own website or other channels.

Also, you'd think that if it were possible to squeeze a $ out of selling anything, Jerry Jones would have found a way. Yet, even the Cowboys-Steiner relationship has dissolved and nobody knows where to find Cowboys gamers anymore.

At the same time that all of this is going on, there are jerseys going for record prices and Panini has locked up the Broncos and selling Manning jerseys for like $20k each.

There must be a lot more to the economics of it than us outsiders are aware of.

Its no secret, teams want bulk buys. But it doesnt work, Meigray/steiner/JO has to charge high prices for everyone for make it worth their while. Teams are also hesitant because they dont want their name attached to a company like JO when it hits the news that they committed fraud.

The best deal for collectors is for companies to strike individual deals with players.

The best deal for teams is selling game jerseys themselves. But even that comes with its own, very real, headaches.

[scottishcowboy41]

NFL auctions is for charity. They dont make money off of things there to my knowledge.
What auction house is going to want a bunch of players who never played in a regular season game? What, sell every teams leftovers? So 700-1200 jerseys? That will drastically lower the profile of any auction house. The cost to put a $50 item up for auction? yeah its not going to be worth the $20 they would get out of the few that sold. It would be a mess. The labor involved would be crazy.
Steiner terminated their deal with the cowboys because they couldnt sell lower tier players that actually played in games. The business model doesnt work.
Tent sale or Team store? Maybe but I already see NFL teams with game jerseys from no name players that are sitting on their website with no interest. Ebay is cluttered with them too, last week it was a bunch of panthers jerseys. Cowboys are one of the biggest fan bases in the league and their jerseys from no name players are a dime a dozen.
Teams recycling jerseys is the best for business, its quick and easy, and doesnt cost them anything other than the few moments of labor.

$50 for a 2012 Nike game used NFL jersey? Really?! I don't think many of us NFL game used jersey collectors have a Nike gamer in our collections yet. I collect Cowboys game used jerseys but I can't afford 4 figures for a Nike gamer. I'd be happy to have a pre-season Nike gamer of a long-shot player I liked and whose progress I followed throughout training camp but got cut at the last minute. I take on board what you are saying about the logistics of how and where to shift all the jerseys, but at the moment I would say there would be a high demand for these jerseys because of the move to Nike jerseys.

My main point however was I didn't like to see game used jerseys taken apart for re-use. As a game used collector and a fan fan, I thought it was a real shame. I have a game used Cowboys helmet, 5 Cowboys practice used jerseys, 10 Cowboys game used jerseys , 1 pair of Cowboys game used gloves and a Cowboys game used equipment bag. I consider myself very fortunate to own and cherish these items. Many football fans don't own any game used items and would dearly love to own a real game used jersey NFL, no matter how low a tier the player. Not everyone is as lucky as us. Something to consider for the average joe football fan...

[ivo610]

$50 for a 2012 Nike game used NFL jersey? Really?! I don't think many of us NFL game used jersey collectors have a Nike gamer in our collections yet. I collect Cowboys game used jerseys but I can't afford 4 figures for a Nike gamer. I'd be happy to have a pre-season Nike gamer of a long-shot player I liked and whose progress I followed throughout training camp but got cut at the last minute. I take on board what you are saying about the logistics of how and where to shift all the jerseys, but at the moment I would say there would be a high demand for these jerseys because of the move to Nike jerseys.

My main point however was I didn't like to see game used jerseys taken apart for re-use. As a game used collector and a fan fan, I thought it was a real shame. I have a game used Cowboys helmet, 5 Cowboys practice used jerseys, 10 Cowboys game used jerseys , 1 pair of Cowboys game used gloves and a Cowboys game used equipment bag. I consider myself very fortunate to own and cherish these items. Many football fans don't own any game used items and would dearly love to own a real game used jersey NFL, no matter how low a tier the player. Not everyone is as lucky as us. Something to consider for the average joe football fan...

Sorry to disappoint you but most football fans don't get a sh*t about game used items. You know what they get excited about? Autographs. Show your $15,000 jersey and they shrug because it isn't autographed. Common jerseys are plentiful on eBay yet all these fans you talk about don't buy them. Packers have a tent sale, some of the best game used jerseys in decades are available. You know the big item was? Old seats. Most fans want nicknacks. If there was a demand for bum player jerseys then Steiner would have renewed their contract with the cowboys.

You should be able to get a conners jersey for a $100-$200 if you look around I'm sure. But you want the 2012 Nike one, which at the moment isn't as plentiful, but if all teams sold them they wouldn't sell all of them even at the dirt price of $50. Teams need the jerseys, the business model doesn't work to please a few fans. Unless you are willing to pay several hundred dollars you won't get a Nike jersey today. I'm sure they will be very plentiful in a couple seasons.