Fanatics Makes More Excuses Than Sellable Jerseys

Like its more tangible products, Fanatics' apologies are shoddy and practically worthless, yet Michael Rubin's sports apparel company keeps issuing them anyway. In this latest instance, Fanatics is sorry for its shitty Super Bowl merch that is definitely not worth the listed price.

Here's the company's statement, posted Monday night:

NFL fans, we've seen your jersey feedback, and we take it very seriously. We’ve let Patriots and Seahawks fans down with product availability – we own that and we are sorry.

This Super Bowl matchup has created unprecedented challenges for us because of the massive surge in demand we saw from Patriots and Seahawks fans. Both teams went from missing the playoffs last season to being in the Super Bowl, an incredibly rare occurrence that led to these two fanbases buying nearly 400% more jerseys since Thanksgiving vs. last year. Even though we ordered substantially more jerseys for these teams than ever before, we’ve struggled to meet the overwhelming demand to keep team color jerseys in stock, which we know is your expectation. As sports fans, we understand your frustration and we will work tirelessly to be better.

We are bringing in more team color jerseys daily and offering alternative options in the meantime. We’ve heard questions about the quality of these alternate jerseys and can assure you that, despite some unflattering photos, these jerseys are identical to the standard Nike replica “Game” jersey – one of the highest consumer-rated items we carry built on the core template that has been unchanged since Nike took over NFL jerseys in 2012. That said, if you’ve ordered any product that you’re not fully satisfied with, including one of these alternate jerseys, it can always be returned free of charge via the Fanatics app – part of our long-standing return policy. Fans who purchased online via NFL Shop or the Patriots/Seahawks team stores can do the same.

We want you to know that we’re listening and we’re ready with a deep assortment of jerseys and fan gear for whoever wins on Sunday. There is nothing better than serving passionate sports fans and we value your feedback above all.

Seriously, take a second to dwell on how pathetic this sentence is: "Both teams went from missing the playoffs last season to being in the Super Bowl, an incredibly rare occurrence that led to these two fanbases buying nearly 400% more jerseys since Thanksgiving vs. last year." Fanatics is listening and learning about how it failed to prepare for a Super Bowl involving the top seed in the NFC and the second seed in the AFC. No one could have possibly foreseen this outcome, especially not the exclusive provider of NFL jerseys for fans to buy.

The actual Patriots will be wearing a white jersey on Sunday, but fans will have to settle for other options, including a black Drake Maye jersey that truly looks worse than anything you can get by clicking around on DHGate. Also, it will cost you $160. If you want the white jersey, you can buy it at at the team's online pro shop, and expect to receive it "no later than Friday, February 27, 2026." Given that it's Fanatics, we should be sincerely grateful that they specified the year.

If you're in the Foxboro area, you could stop by the team shop at the Patriots' stadium and get a particularly shitty white jersey, or a navy jersey with a Super Bowl patch that appears to have been placed more or less at random. Now that's limited edition.

At the NFL shop in the Bay Area, there are plenty of No. 60 Super Bowl jerseys if you'd like to root for the concept of a championship game. Nice, that's my favorite player!

At last check, Fanatics is purportedly valued at $31 billion.