Najee Harris is already earning plenty of fame. Here’s why the Steelers running back is currently inside the top 10 in recent jersey sales.
After many hostile Steelers fans figuratively set fire to their Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell jerseys, fans have been waiting patiently for the next up-and-coming player in the spotlight whose jersey they can flaunt.
Jersey sales are a huge part of the NFL industry and a great way for fans to show off their love for the team or a specific player – typically one who is in the spotlight. With everyone and their mother already owning a Ben Roethlisberger jersey, fans were waiting for the next big (potential superstar) player to join that they could feel comfortable purchasing appeal for. It seems that the time has come.
Just over a month after being selected with the 24th overall pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2021 NFL Draft, Najee Harris currently finds himself inside the top 10 of all NFL players in jersey sales, according to Fox Sports: NFL. In fact, the rookie running back currently has the 7th-highest-selling NFL jersey:
Here's a look at the top selling player jerseys in the NFL 👀 pic.twitter.com/uCImRKOk1T
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) May 28, 2021
Why Steelers fans are snatching up Najee Harris jerseys
Though he’s yet to play an NFL snap, Najee Harris jerseys are being snatched up quickly by fans around the globe. While he has the 7th-highest selling jersey, there are actually only 3 NFL players who are selling jerseys faster: Tim Tebow, Justin Fields, and Tom Brady (Tebow and Fields have multiple home/away jerseys that are being snatched up at an alarming rate).
There are many reasons why fans are being so quick to throw money down on a fresh new Najee Harris Jersey. For starters, fans have been waiting for that next big superstar they can count on. While I prefer jerseys of defensive players, that’s not what the numbers indicate.
For the Steelers, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell were always among the league’s highest-selling jerseys. This no doubt has something to do with the excitement they brought to the game as electrifying skill players for Pittsburgh. Typically, there is a correlation between the players that touch the ball a lot and NFL jersey sales, and fans expect Najee to tout the ball early and often.
In addition, Pittsburgh has one of the largest markets in all of football, and its fans can be found around the globe. This is the reason why you can see a name like Najee Harris selling significantly more than say, Zach Wilson. Though the New York Jets just got a fun new quarterback with the 2nd overall pick this year, the Jets don’t have the big, dedicated fan base like Pittsburgh does.
I’m going to be diving into a segment about which Steelers jerseys are worth purchasing, but it’s clear that Pittsburgh fans are wasting no time buying into Najee Harris as a player who will carve out a significant role in the offense moving forward. With a good rookie season, he could climb even higher on this list.