Super Bowl fumble: Fanatics faces intense backlash over NFL merch quality, availability

Football fans were left furious after a major sports apparel brand came under fire for multiple Super Bowl merchandising issues ahead of the big game this weekend.

Fanatics released a statement on Tuesday responding to recent backlash on social media over low stock and complaints about the quality of its Super Bowl LX jerseys for the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. 

"NFL fans, we've seen your jersey feedback, and we take it very seriously," the company’s official X statement read. "We’ve let Patriots and Seahawks fans down with product availability, we own that, and we are sorry."

"This Super Bowl matchup has created unprecedented challenges for us because of the massive surge in demand we saw from Patriots and Seahawks fans," the message continued. "Both teams went from missing the playoffs last season to being in the Super Bowl, an incredibly rare occurrence that led to these two fanbases buying nearly 400% more jerseys since Thanksgiving vs. last year."

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"Even though we ordered substantially more jerseys for these teams than ever before, we’ve struggled to meet the overwhelming demand to keep team color jerseys in stock, which we know is your expectation. As sports fans, we understand your frustration, and we will work tirelessly to be better."

People online also criticized the quality of alternate team jersey options being offered by the company, with some using colorful language to voice their displeasure.

"The Fanatics merch slop monopoly must be annihilated," one X user posted. Another said, "It cannot be overstated enough just how much Fanatics has destroyed sports merchandise…" 

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One user argued that NFL jerseys were better before Fanatics’ domination of the sports merchandising market. The user wrote, "Insane that the only Patriots Super Bowl uniform you can get at the team store is a design the team doesn’t wear on the field and sells for $160. You used to be able to buy Reebok uniforms with painted numbers for $30 at Marshall’s… what happens when Fanatics has a monopoly."

Fanatics also responded to criticism of jersey quality in the press release, defending its products and noting that it is ordering more team-color jerseys and alternate options for consumers as complaints are addressed.

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"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," the statement said.

The sportswear giant advised buyers that any product that does not meet their expectations can be returned "free of charge" using the Fanatics app.

Fanatics is in the midst of a 10-year partnership with the NFL that began in 2020. It became the exclusive distributor of Nike’s adult-sized jerseys and other apparel, boosting its prominence as a dominant player in the online sportswear industry.

The brand has also made recent forays into hosting conventions and the content creation business. The annual Fanatics Fest, featuring some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment, takes place at the Javits Center in New York City, and CEO Michael Rubin recently announced the launch of Fanatics Studios, a new production company that is a joint venture between the brand and OBB Media.