Tom Brady continues to be a radio-friendly unit shifter.
The Patriots quarterback had the top-selling jersey from April 1, 2016 to February 28 of this year, according to an infographic released by NFL Shop. Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott, the Cowboys' rookie sensations of 2016, took the second and third spots, respectively. Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and Brady teammate Rob Gronkowski rounded out the top five.
If you're like me, you're probably wondering how the hell people are still buying Tom Brady jerseys at such a furious rate. I mean, if you're a Patriots fan, don't you already have Tom Brady merch? The likely explanation is two-fold: 1) Coming off his fifth Super Bowl title, TB12 has never been more popular and 2) The Patriots have deftly altered their uniforms ever so slightly in recent years.
Let's use Brady's recently recovered Super Bowl jerseys as a handy guide. Viva La Mexico!
A few other fun facts here:
» There are three Patriots total in the top 25 (Brady, Gronk, Julian Edelman) and zero representatives from the other three AFC East teams. Pretty accurate summation of the state of the division.
» Defense may win championships (not really true), but offense drives commerce. Only four of the top-25 top jersey sellers play on the defensive side of the ball, with none in the top 10. Broncos linebacker Von Miller (No. 11) is the highest. Kudos to J.J. Watt for hanging on this list (No. 25) despite missing most of the season.
» More Brady fun. He was "no duh" top seller in all the New England states, but also finished first in Nevada, Utah, Hawaii, Michigan, Illinois and Florida. Those first three states are off the hook because they don't have NFL teams (yet), but shame on the last three. Michigan can at least claim Brady as an alum of state university, but Illinois and Florida need to curb their front-running ways. (What? You don't want to spend $60 on a Mike Glennon or Blake Bortles jersey? OK, that's fair.)
» Looking for the next face of the NFL? Keep an eye on Dak, who has the best-selling jersey in nine pieces of the union, including out-of-market states like Maryland and Tennessee. Just imagine what would happen if the Cowboys ever get over the hump and win another Super Bowl.
» Brady had the No. 1 selling jersey in all 50 states in February. This is what happens when you mastermind a 25-point second-half comeback in the biggest game on the planet. It's good to be Tom.