Luck jersey sales soaring as holidays approach

November 28, 2012
Back to TopCommentsE-mailPrint

When this NFL season started, I noted how many more Peyton Manning No. 18 Colts jerseys there were at Lucas Oil Stadium on game days than the No. 12 of rookie quarterback Andrew Luck.

That’s not the case any more. As the fortunes of the Colts have risen this year and the No. 1 overall selection of this year’s draft proved himself on the field, the number of Luck jerseys in the stands and around central Indiana rose dramatically.

Officials for MainGate Inc., the Indianapolis company that handles Colts merchandise sales locally and online, recently told IBJ that 67 percent of all Colts jerseys sold this year are emblazoned with No. 12. Luck’s jersey outsells the second most popular Colt 10-to-1, according to CEO Dave Moroknek.

Luck’s jersey could be a more common sighting around town. With holiday shopping just ramping up, Moroknek said early indicators are that Luck’s Colts jersey will be the top-selling item this December.

Luck jerseys are also becoming popular outside this market.

Fanatics.com, a top seller of officially licensed sports apparel, reported that Luck’s jersey ranked eighth among all professional athletes in cyber Monday sales—ahead of such stars as New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees and L.A. Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

Luck’s popularity grew steadily this season, with his jersey No. 6 in sales among all NFL players, league officials said.

A few interesting names were ahead of Luck on the Fanatics.com top 10 list for cyber Monday. No. 1 was Robert Griffin III’s Washington Redskins jersey and No. 2 was Peyton Manning’s No. 18 Denver Broncos jersey.

Griffin was chosen second in this year’s draft behind Luck, and Manning is the player Luck replaced as Colts quarterback.

Sports marketers said Luck’s popularity has as much to do with his down-to-earth nature and carefully crafted public image as it does with his prowess on the football field.

Luck has been slow and methodical in his business deals, making his first big splash this fall with Riley Hospital for Children and this week coming out with a campaign for the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library.

“His play on the field and his likeability off the field are a perfect combination of a star player, and star players sell,” MainGate’s Moroknek said. “We are extremely fortunate to have a QB and person of his caliber to market and sell.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Post a comment to this blog

COMMENTS POLICY
We reserve the right to remove any post that we feel is obscene, profane, vulgar, racist, sexually explicit, abusive, or hateful.
 
You are legally responsible for what you post and your anonymity is not guaranteed.
 
Posts that insult, defame, threaten, harass or abuse other readers or people mentioned in IBJ editorial content are also subject to removal. Please respect the privacy of individuals and refrain from posting personal information.
 
No solicitations, spamming or advertisements are allowed. Readers may post links to other informational websites that are relevant to the topic at hand, but please do not link to objectionable material.
 
We may remove messages that are unrelated to the topic, encourage illegal activity, use all capital letters or are unreadable.
 

Messages that are flagged by readers as objectionable will be reviewed and may or may not be removed. Please do not flag a post simply because you disagree with it.

ADVANCED SEARCH
Sponsored by
ADVERTISEMENT

  1. Many serial killer types and psychopaths work as lowly bureaucrats, just waiting to impose their wrath on a powerless person, child, or pet. Don't forget, the BTK killer was a dog catcher.

  2. If a television station wants to improve viewership, get rid of the local blackout. I was born by the brickyard, and have attended 15 or more races. I have children now, I won't attend unless circumstances are perfect. As those with growing families know, they never are. I'm always impressed that upwards of 250,000 people attend the 500. However, as a growing, or, more apt, sprawling city, Indianapolis and its immediate suburbs count almost 2.2 million. Show the race live, let the venue get a kick-back on revenues, and open-wheel racing might have a fighting chance to be relevant again. Just in time for those tax-payer lights to make sense.

  3. John Moore, I too have had the same issue recently. A property next to my house was on the Land Bank and I was interested in purchasing. When I tried to contact Reggie, I got back emails that had nothing to do with what I asked about. Actually my latest response from him was on this past Friday. I had asked about how to buy the property and if it was still available. His response to me was to contact the mayor's office to get the schedule of his appearances. (???) Hopefully the city is able to do something to fix what this guy has done, it would be nice if they would take the properties back and sell them properly so land owners like me and you mother would have a fair chance.

  4. I too work in the industry, with over 25 years of experience and your political spin has probably nothing to do with any rebranding. "Let's dress it up" would have nothing to do with the government "telling us how and what to eat." Give it a political rest. And being a producer for a radio show doesn't mean you've been involved in advertising and branding for 30 years.

  5. Ms. Morris did not understand the ways of the business world, otherwise, like the IMS, she could have petitioned the State Legislature for a handout of State Funds for her charity work. Ms. Morris should consider becoming a state lobbyist for Lemonade Stand Operators.

ADVERTISEMENT