He’s missed several games with an injury but Dez Bryant continues to hold the top spot on the NFLPA Top 50 Player Sales List, based on total sales of all officially-licensed merchandise, from March 1 through August 31 of 2016. The Q2 Top 50 list measures sales leading up to the start of the season. The Dallas Cowboys wide receiver became the first non-quarterback to attain the top spot on the Q1 list during the summer.
Tom Brady, who was the top-ranked player at the end of 2015, returned to the top five, in the No. 2 spot. Brady’s well-publicized suspension may have actually moved sales forward as fans anticipated his return in Week 5 of the season.
Joining Brady in the top five were two more quarterbacks – Aaron Rodgers at No. 3, and Russell Wilson at No. 4. Giants’ receiver Odell Beckham Jr. rounded out the top five.
The Top 50 Player list is released quarterly by the NFLPA, via its licensing and marketing arm NFL Players Inc., and is based on overall sales of all NFL player licensed products via online and traditional retail outlets as reported by more than 80 NFLPA licensees, including Fanatics, Nike, VF Imagewear, Outerstuff, Fathead, McFarlane Toys, OYO Sports, Bleacher Creatures, FBF Originals, Forever Collectibles, 500 Level and more.
While it doesn’t measure secondary market sales of items such as football cards, the Top 50 Player list does offer a glimpse into which players are most popular with the public.
Licensed product categories include men’s, women’s and youth game jerseys and t-shirts, wall decals, figurines, vinyl collectibles, matted and framed photos, bobbleheads, and other memorabilia.
Highlights from the NFLPA Top 50 Player Sales list:
- Bryant sold 81,000+ items with Dallas Cowboys Merchandising leading the way among all Cowboys players.
- OYO Sportstoys’ No. 1 construction toy figure was Tom Brady. Rookie Carson Wentz made his way into the top five. Brady also led sales of Funko’s Pop Vinyl figures.
- Across the apparel category, including licensees Nike, VF, FBF Originals, Fanatics, FanPrint, 500 Level, and Dallas Cowboys Merchandising, Rodgers, Wilson, Watt, Brady, and Rob Gronkowski topped sales.
- Brady, Rodgers, and Watt were the top sellers of Nike jerseys.
- Brady, Gronkowski, Rodgers, Wilson, and Newton were the top five best-selling players in Toys. Rodgers had the most sales off bobbleheads, with Von Miller following closely behind.
Top 50 Player Sales Report YTD (June 1 – August 31, 2016)
- Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas Cowboys
- Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
- Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
- Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks
- Odell Beckham, WR, New York Giants
- Tony Romo, QB, Dallas Cowboys
- Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots
- Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers
- J.J. Watt, DE, Houston Texans
- Jason Witten, TE, Dallas Cowboys
- Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys
- Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
- Von Miller, LB, Denver Broncos
- Derek Carr, QB, Oakland Raiders
- Todd Gurley, RB, Los Angeles Rams
- Luke Kuechly, LB, Carolina Panthers
- Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland Raiders
- Khalil Mack, LB, Oakland Raiders
- Richard Sherman, DB, Seattle Seahawks
- Clay Matthews, LB, Green Bay Packers
- Carson Wentz, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
- Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay Packers
- Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Minnesota Vikings
- Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans
- Le’Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
- Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts
- Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
- Navorro Bowman, LB, San Francisco 49ers
- Julian Edelman, WR, New England Patriots
- Jared Goff, QB, Los Angeles Rams
- DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans
- Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals
- Jameis Winston, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants
- Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos
- Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
- Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons
- Alshon Jeffery, WR, Chicago Bears
- Jimmy Graham, TE, Seattle Seahawks
- A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
- Carlos Hyde, RB, San Francisco 49ers
- Eddie Lacy, RB, Green Bay Packers
- Jarvis Landry, WR, Miami Dolphins
- Brandon Marshall, WR, New York Jets
- Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington Redskins
- Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings
- Joe Haden, DB, Cleveland Browns
- Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle Seahawks
- Kam Chancellor, SS, Seattle Seahawks
- Ryan Tannehill, QB, Miami Dolphins
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