How could it not be otherwise, In San Francisco the expectation is maximum before the 60th edition of the Super Bowl which takes place this Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. There, the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots will fight for the ring in a final that not many were able to anticipate at the beginning of the season. Neither did Fanatics, the exclusive supplier of Nike clothing for the NFL, which has been receiving serious criticism for a few days and has been forced to publicly apologize for the shortage of products from the two finalists in the official Super Bowl store, located in the Moscone Center in the city of the Bay.
When the doors of the NFL Shop opened at the beginning of the week, attention was immediately drawn to the few official Patriots and Seahawks products there were, especially game jerseys. AS saw first-hand that not even white game jerseys were available with which New England will compete in the Super Bowl, and only Drake Maye’s, a single player, in navy blue, could be purchased. On the Seahawks side, the offer was slightly broader: there were the Kenneth Walker III and Jaxon Smith-Njigba jerseys, in blue and the alternative in black. They weren’t blank either. A curiosity is that this It will be the first Super Bowl in history in which both teams wear pants and shirts of the same color each.since the Patriots decided to play completely in white out of superstition, since this season they have not lost in this clothing.
The offer supplied by Fanatics was completed with a few other street t-shirts of the teams, the tracksuits they wore at Opening Night and more generic products. Yes, you could later find more things from other collections, like the one the NFL has with Bad Bunny, which had t-shirts and sweatshirts themed to both teams. In addition to anger at the lack of variety of products, fans also pointed out that the quality of what was available is dubious, something unthinkable considering that, for example, Maye’s previously mentioned shirt cost 225 dollars (190 euros at the current exchange rate).
Faced with the wave of criticism, Fanatics had to come forward and apologize on social networks. “NFL fans, we have seen your comments about the jerseys and we take them very seriously. We have disappointed Patriots and Seahawks fans with the availability of the products; we know it and we regret it,” a statement began in which the lack of supply was attributed to the fact that it was an unexpected Super Bowl. “This Super Bowl matchup has presented us with unprecedented challenges due to the tremendous increase in demand from Patriots and Seahawks fans. Both teams went from missing the playoffs last season to being in the Super Bowl, an incredibly rare occurrence. which led these two hobbies to buy almost 400% more t-shirts since Thanksgiving compared to last year,” he added.
In 2018, the NFL and Fanatics signed a 10-year agreement that gave the company exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute all adult NFL Nike products, and the league has invested approximately $400 million in the organization. “While we have ordered many more jerseys for these teams than ever before, we have struggled to meet the overwhelming demand to keep team-colored jerseys in stock, which we know is your expectation. As sports fans, we understand your frustration and will work tirelessly to improve,” continued a letter promising to resolve the situation. “We are bringing more team-colored jerseys daily and offering alternative options in the meantime.”
Furthermore, Fanatics wanted to deny that the products were of poor quality. “We have received questions about the quality of these alternative jerseys and we can assure you that, despite some unflattering photos, these jerseys are identical to the standard Nike ‘Game’ replica. That said, if you have ordered any product that you are not completely satisfied with, including one of these alternative jerseys, you can always return it free of charge through the Fanatics app,” the organization concluded for try to settle one of the messes of the week in San Francisco.
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