As the fight over the nickname of Washington’s professional football team heats up, sales of its consumer apparel are down.
In the midst of a George Washington University professor weighing a challenge to team owner Daniel Snyder’s radio station licenses, a fight over the name with the Patent and Trademark Office, and the University of Minnesota seeking a ban on the moniker, team jerseys are not flying off shelves.
Sales of merchandise emblazoned with Washington’s logo and nickname fell 35 percent last quarter, CNN reported, citing data from SportsSourceOne. During that same period, overall NFL gear sales rose 3 percent. “People are having a second thoughts about wearing a T-shirt with the logo or name that it has now been called racist,” CNN quoted SportsSourceOne senior analyst Matt Powell as saying.
Washington’s NFL team has another take on the downdraft in sales. “Unfortunately, team performance on the field is a major factor in the apparel business, and a 3-13 season doesn’t do much to help sales,” CNN quoted team spokesman Tony Wyllie as saying. “However, we are working hard to improve that record and we look forward to the season opener this weekend.”
