INDUSTRY:
SPORTS MERCHANDISE
CLIENT:
NFL
YEAR:
2024-25
MEDIUM:
APPAREL GRAPHICS
about.
In late 2024, the Fanatics product team set out to bring a bold concept to life - a collection of football (or soccer, depending on where you’re reading this) jerseys inspired by all 32 NFL teams. With crossover culture more prevalent than ever, this was a chance to push creative boundaries and make something fresh using our licensing and product reach. Working with authentic jersey silhouettes and a top-tier development team, the design team had full creative freedom to build a collection unlike anything seen before. I was given the honor of bringing to life four designs: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
process.
This was one of the first major projects I worked on as part of the product team at Fanatics, so I threw myself into it completely and took everything as it came. I dove into research and focused on finding a unique story for each of my assigned teams - from the retro-inspired cut-and-sew panels on the Broncos jersey to the wave-like emboss used in the Dolphins design. As someone borderline obsessed with football jerseys, I leaned on instinct and experience to guide what felt right and what didn’t. After rounds of moodboarding and the occasional visit to Classic Football Shirts, I landed on concepts for all my teams and moved them into development.
outcome.
The outcomes blew away my expectations. From the jerseys themselves, to the marketing activiations and virality of the entire project. The overall designs turned out just as I envisioned, with the Bills jersey popping just as much as the all-inspired PSG jerseys did back in the day, and the embossed topography (which represents the actual landscape of Denver) polishing off a really complete product for the Broncos, a personal favourite of mine. Then they hit FanaticsFest in New York City, and the internet blew up for them - with athletes and celebrities rocking the pieces all weekend. We featured on SoccerBible, Complex, HypeBeast, Sky Sports, and more, a fantastic reward for a lot of hard work.
in the news.
The lines between gridiron glory and the global game just got deliciously blurred.
Daniel Jones
SoccerBible
