Supply issues resulting from an unexpected Super Bowl pairing forced sports retailer Fanatics to apologize—but the apology made things worse. Football fans started complaining about the quality, price, and availability of Seahawks and Patriots jerseys in the weeks leading up to the big game, with the scandal reaching conspiracy levels among influencers.
Fanatics probably should not have dismissed allegations of low-quality merchandise.
"$160 for this???"
Licensed sports merchandise retailer Fanatics posted an apology to X on Monday over 2026 Super Bowl jerseys running out, blaming the issue on the fact that nobody predicted a Seahawks vs. Patriots game. The company promised that it's working on getting more shirts in stock, but fumbled on other allegations.
"We’ve heard questions about the quality of these alternate jerseys and 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 account wrote.
To some unhappy sports fans, this sounded like an accusation of dishonesty among those complaining about jersey quality. Fanatics is selling official Super Bowl jerseys for both teams at $160 a pop on its website, but shoppers finding similar items at stores like TJ Maxx report them selling at one-tenth of the price.
Others alleged glaring quality control issues, among other problems.
"Why are the Super Bowl patches in completely different spots on each jersey?" asked @ChillBaldGuy. "$160 for this???"
"So basically, Fanatics' excuse for poor jersey quality is that the Patriots/Seahawks were bad in 2024," wrote @MikerophoneNFL on Fanatics' apology.
"This doesn’t even touch on the terrible designs, the off-center hats, the OUTRAGEOUS prices, and lack of options…"
Influencer accuses Fanatics of buying silence
The issue soon stepped into conspiracy territory. On Tuesday, Patriots superfan @BabzOnTheMic shared DM screenshots alleging that Fanatics is buttering up influencers with fancy hotels and meet-and-greets, hoping to stop them from talking about jersey issues.
"They ended up flying me out directly to the NHL Draft to see the debut of the jerseys," an anonymous Fanatics critic alleged. "I was in a five-star hotel, and they flew out tons of other hockey 'influencers' ... We had lunch with Michael Rubin and got to ask him anything."
"While I do greatly appreciate it, they just want to buy my loyalty."
The debacle got so bad that angry customers got the hashtag #EndFanatics trending on X, with many calling the company a monopoly.
"Fanatics is a MONOPOLY and needs to be broken up," said @awndrezawndrez. "They run: Fanatics, FansEdge, Lids, NFLShop, MLBShop, MLSStore, NBAStore, NHLShop, KitBag, and the vast majority of team pro shops across the country in any given sport."
"Fans of ALL teams of ALL sports should boycott buying this garbage immediately," wrote @rdesai711.
"Force @fanatics to improve their quality or release their monopoly."
The Daily Dot has reached out to Fanatics for comment.
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s newsletter here.
