Success at a team level in the National Football League is easily measured. It’s about wins, it’s about division crowns, and ultimately, it’s about getting to Super Bowls and winning Super Bowls. Success at an individual level is largely measured in stats and accolades.
That said, there are other fun ways to measure individual success in the NFL, and while this particular metric is probably a hybrid of success and buzz, it’s fun to see which players sell the most jerseys. The apparel company Lids put out a graphic last week that shows which jerseys are the most popular in each state. As you can see below, there are no scrubs represented on that map. It’s all star players:
Here are the four most surprising things from one of the more intriguing graphics that I’ve laid eyes on in quite some time:
C.J. Stroud owns Texas
Forever, the team that has owned the state of Texas from a marketing and buzz perspective has been the Dallas Cowboys. Hell, for a long time, they owned the entire country, even having not won a Super Bowl since 1996. They haven’t even been to a conference championship game since then. Now, it appears certain elements of the marketing wheel are shifting to the Texans, and specifically, people really, really like C.J. Stroud. So, step aside, Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons, and Ceedee Lamb — it’s C.J.’s (jersey selling) time.
Jalen Hurts owns Alabama
Jalen Hurts play in Pennsylvania, and nearly won a Heisman Trophy playing for Oklahoma, but prior to becoming a Sooner, he was a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide, and was probably best known for being replaced by Tua Tagovailoa at halftime of the championship game in 2017, and never getting his job back. My point is that there are plenty of former Alabama players that folks in that state could back with jersey purchases. I’m mildly surprised that it’s Hurts.
Patrick Mahomes owns Indiana
Look, Mahomes is the greatest player of the current era, so there are several states that are detached from Kansas and Missouri where he’s the favorite. Most of those states are without an NFL team. The funny thing about this is that Indiana HAS a team, and their fans buy more jerseys per capita than any state I’ve ever been to, so it’s funny to me that it’s not a Colt winning the jersey was in that state. What a silly franchise.
Micah Parsons owns four of the most random states you could think of
Yeah, C.J. Stroud owns the state of Texans, but at least Cowboys loudmouth defensive end Micah Parsons owns Nebraska, Alaska, Mississippi, and Connecticut. Four random states that could not be more different from one another. Way to go, Micah!
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