For anyone following the recent NFL lockout has probably heard by now that annual revenues for the past year were almost 9 billion dollars. How does that happen? Well, one way is to have a rabid fan base that buys a lot of goods, and the other is to have goods that are really expensive. Most sporting apparel will go from 20 dollars for a team T-shirt to 150 dollars just for a replica jersey. With money tight these days, how do you save money on sporting apparel?
The best way to do this is to shop out of season for goods. Go to JCPenney and check out what team apparel is left over from the previous season. You will notice that most of the prices are slashed after the season is over by about half off. This can make it a little easier to explain to the wife why you bought that Ryan Miller jersey you wanted all season, but couldn’t have until now.
A neat trick is to buy just a generic jersey with a number on it. Say your favorite player wears number 11 this season. A great way to save money on his jersey is to buy a generic jersey with the number 11 on it and put his name on the back of it yourself. It is as easy as using electrical tape, or even writing it in sharpie if you really don’t care how it looks.
Look for special giveaways at the stadium if you are going to the game. For example, a baseball stadium might be giving away trading cards or baseball gloves to the first 1,000 fans in attendance. Hockey and basketball teams will give away free t-shirts during the playoffs, or maybe there will be a special bobblehead night to honor a past great player.
Wait for a player to change teams, or even jersey numbers. If Kobe Bryant changes his uniform number, Nike is going to get rid of all his old jerseys and get new ones with the new number on it. If you don’t mind being slightly outdated, you are going to have a bargain on your hands. When a player changes teams, the old team might want to get rid of anything associated with the player, or the league might want to sell off the old merchandise cheaply.
Sporting apparel can cost a lot of money, but there are ways to get around spending so much cash. Just like anything else, you have to have a sense of timing. Buy out of season and dare to be a little generic or out of date. It might seem lame, but it can save you a lot of money.