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Good Thursday Morning. Here’s the rundown of this week’s Sports Business Playbook:

• 📰 This Week’s Topic: Kristin Juszczyk (pronounced “use-check”), wife of San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, went viral over the last few weeks for her self-designed sports fashion apparel worn by notable celebrities and athletes, including Klay Thompson, Olivia Culpo, and the queen herself, Taylor Swift. This week, Juszczyk was rewarded for her hard work and granted an official license by the NFL to use NFL marks in her apparel designs. This viral moment should be setting off lightbulbs all across the sports industry. I’ll explain more in this week’s edition.

• 🍸️ Impress Your Friends at Cocktail Party: Want to show off your sports knowledge in a public setting but don’t have time to read the deep dive? Hit the “Impress Your Friends at Cocktail Party” section at the bottom for a CliffsNotes of this week’s topic

• 🤯 “Whoa of the Week”: The Taylor Swift effect, NFL Championship Week TV ratings bonanza and a strong debut for the Pro Volleyball Federation

• 💪 Weekly Reminders that Sports are Awesome: A viral Twitter account that ties together sports and art history.

Hey team,

As the Kansas City Chiefs suited up for their Wild Card weekend matchup against the Miami Dolphins a few weeks ago, international pop star Taylor Swift was spotted at the game wearing a Chiefs puffer jacket customized with the name/number of her boyfriend, Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce, and several other fun accessories.

The jacket went viral, and NFL insiders — with the help of some strong support from her husband — quickly attributed the customized piece to Kristin Juszczyk (pronounced “use-check”), wife of San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk.

Kristin is an amateur fashion designer who has created customized football pieces for celebrities like Taylor Lautner, Simone Biles, and Deebo Samuel, to name a few. She apparently sent the Kelce jacket to Brittany Mahomes, Patrick Mahomes’ wife and a prior customer, with the hope that it would catch Taylor Swift’s eye.

It did.

According to Joe Pompliano, nearly 100 million people saw the jacket on social media, it generated $2.1 million in social value, and Kristin’s Instagram following has jumped 673% to nearly 900,000 as of writing this.

She’s followed this viral moment up with notable designs for supermodel (and fiancée of 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey) Olivia Culpo and Golden State Warriors legend Klay Thompson in the last few weeks that have caught the public’s attention.

The big news came this week, though, when Kristin was officially awarded a license to use NFL marks in her designs. This is a massive step for her career and a great way to cap off a feel good story, but it should also have every sports business professional at teams and leagues going:

In this week’s edition, we're talking about the sports licensing/apparel game and what sports organizations should be thinking about in the aftermath of this story. You’ll learn:

• How sports apparel licensing works and the current challenges in the sports market

• Existing efforts to bring sports apparel into high fashion

• How the Kristin Juszczyk should highlight an opportunity to open up new revenue streams and, more importantly, create additional pathways to find and nurture new fans

Apparel-ently Strict

Traditional sports apparel deals usually break down in two ways:

1. The official provider of the league or team’s apparel. Example: Fanatics managing the NFL Shop.

2. Smaller entities getting official approval to use leagues and teams’ marks in their independent stores and the leagues/teams take a royalty on the sales (usually with a minimum guarantee). Example: ‘47 Brand

The revenues from both deal types are important — the NFL reportedly makes over $4 billion per year from merchandising — but the licensing structure also serves as a brand protection mechanism.

Think of it this way: the Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable sports franchise in the world, worth over $9 billion according to Forbes.

In addition to all of their additional business ventures, the Cowboys have a massive fanbase. Their logo and brand carries a significance and evokes a strong emotion/mental image for people.

[ALEX’S BRAIN:

I will not make a joke about the Cowboys choking in the playoffs.

I will not make a joke about the Cowboys choking in the playoffs.

I will not make a joke about the Cowboys choking in the playoffs]

People who are fans of the club and/or just like the look want to wear Cowboys gear and own Cowboys items because it’s a representation of who they are, what community they belong to, and how they want to present themselves to the outside world.

This means that the Cowboys know that putting their logo on merchandise and other items will incentivize consumers to buy, or “get people to move” as my marketing professor at Michigan, Marcus Collins, used to say.

You know where else the Cowboys get people to move?

To the exits after yet another playoff loss!

Sorry, couldn’t help myself 🤷.

Back to the important stuff.

The point is, the Cowboys, and the NFL by extension, are very strict about who gets to use the official league trademarks because they want to:

1. Ensure people are not using the logos in ways that could damage the reputation and brand equity that’s been built up

2. Prevent people from fraudulently using the trademarks and not cutting the team/league in on a piece of the action via royalties

These stringent regulations have worked. $4 billion from an ancillary revenue stream like merch is roughly 80% of the NHL’s total turnover (a fuh-nance person's way of saying revenue) in 2022.

But, it’s come at a cost of creativity and attracting new audiences outside of the base consumers.

Most of the items in sports apparel across all leagues/teams (not just NFL) could be described as “man cave chic” and appeal to a large, but very specific, demographic. The external licensing partners traditionally do better, but, in general, most team-based apparel is usually geared towards super fans.

And do not get the Twitter community started on women’s apparel. There are efforts being made to change this paradigm, but the traditional model has been to “shrink it and pink it.” Click into this thread and see the replies if you want to chuckle and shake your head.

In fairness to the sports world, many organizations recognize this disparity and are working on it in some capacity.

There is an effort underway to find new, interesting collaborations that go beyond the traditional model and connect with people in a different way. Here are just a few examples:

• Several teams have brought in notable designers or celebrities to be creative directors/strategists. International soccer club The NHL’s New York Islanders worked with former Burberry designers to develop a high-end lifestyle brand that is sold in the “Isles Lab” store at UBS Arena.

• A few teams have launched a private label merchandise brand. The NBA’s Brooklyn Nets unveiled Berō (pronounced “borough”), which features everyday wear that features only loose references to the team and basketball.

• Some larger entities have done collaborations with major fashion houses. World-renowned soccer club Paris Saint-Germain has partnered with Dior to develop an official wardrobe line, and the NFL created co-branded products with Hugo Boss, OVO and Kith. It also set up collaboration with BaubleBar and sports reporter Erin Andrews for a line of jewelry based upon the colors and logos of the 32 NFL teams

These are a good start, but I think sports can do even more.

A Jus-ful Idea

Good sports organizations think in 5-10-year increments and macro challenges.

Regardless of how well they’re doing in the present, they most likely see aging fanbases, an increasingly difficult media landscape, and much shorter attention spans.

These are the types of structural issues that keep them up at night, and there are three interconnected things they are all constantly considering for how to combat these challenges:

1. Showcasing their players both on and off the court, field, etc.

2. Connecting better with women

3. Connecting better with younger generations

At the intersection of all three of those: fashion.

Athletes

Athletes have long been at the forefront of fashion. Who could forget Joe Namath strutting around the sidelines in his mink coat, or the NBA “style god” himself, Clyde Frazier, and his custom suits.

This has continued today, as fashion is a big component of modern athletes’ identities. Several star athletes — Serena Williams, Russell Westbrook, and Rodger Federer, to name a few — have participated in fashion shows and designed clothing lines, and the walk-in from the parking lot to the arena/stadium has become a catwalk for all players.

And it resonates with fans.

Sports fashion Instagram accounts like LeagueFits have over 1 million followers, and brands are constantly on watch for if a player wears their stuff so they can promote it — see: Mr. Taylor Swift and KidSuper.

As Mark Shapiro, President of Endeavor, said in a 2022 New York Times interview, “In the era of social media, when Instagram moves product and the camera is always on, the legend gets made on the field. But every other waking moment is an image-making performance about what you are wearing, the products you use and how that gets shared.”

Women Fans

Putting aside the generalization about women liking clothes and fashion, here is a key data point: according to an NYU study, women account for 80% of every dollar spent on sports apparel.

Where it becomes even more interesting for sports organizations: women only account for 46% of NFL merchandise bought right now.

This highlights both a gap (no more sequin t-shirts, plz!) but also an opportunity for the organizations to think differently about how they reach these fans.

Younger Generations

According to the Business of Fashion, fashion is the favorite entertainment category for the US Gen-Z demo to spend money on, outranking other categories like dining, video games, and music. This is critical because they are aging into the prime buying windows for spending, but also that there is a need to attract their attention (and their wallets) from other areas.

Bringing It All Together

So, what can sports organizations learn from the Kristin Juszczyk story?

Collaborations with notable streetwear brands and fashion houses make total sense. But when it comes to amateur creators, they need to shift their mindset from “here’s why it won’t work” to “here’s why it could work” when it comes to creators.

They need to relax the licensing rules in more instances and look for opportunities to tap talented designers like Kristin Juszczyk, particularly in traditionally underrepresented categories, who are doing creative things.

Why?

Of course there is the potential for incremental revenue, but that’s not the main driver.

As Ryan Samuelson, VP of Consumer Products at the NFL, told Modern Retail, the collaborations they did in 2023 account for “low single digits, if that even, in terms of what it would represent as our total business.”

The bigger point is that people have more diverse interests now. Sports need to continue to find opportunities to meet people where they wish to be met and to create new lead funnels for developing them into fans.

In this instance, someone who enjoys the emerging sports-based fashion trend should still be considered a target. It runs parallel to the Swifties now loving football trend, and it’s a great opportunity to not only find net new fans but also to nurture existing ones and deepen the relationship.

So, think outside the box:

• A design contest for people to submit their custom work for their hometown team

• A sports-themed fashion show featuring up and coming designers

• A styling of female athletes in new pieces and promoting their fits

Actions like this will be rewarded with interest from a new audience that has the potential to help create a more diverse, fortified business.

And congrats again to Kristin Juszczyk. Here’s hoping she created a movement.

🍸️ Impress Your Friends at a Cocktail Party

Want to show off your sports knowledge in a public setting but don’t have time to read the deep dive? This section is the CliffsNotes of this week’s topic

• Opener: Kristin Juszczyk, wife of San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, is an amateur fashion designer who has customized pieces for a nubmer of famous celebrities and athletes. Taylor Swift wore a customized puffer jacket by her in the first round of the NFL playoffs a few weeks ago, and it went viral. Nearly 100 million people saw the jacket on social media, it generated $2.1 million in social value, and Kristin’s Instagram following has jumped 673% to nearly 900,000 as of writing this.

• Shot: The big news came this week, though, when Kristin was officially awarded a license to use NFL marks in her designs. This is a massive step for her career and a great way to cap off a feel good story, but it should also have every sports business professional at teams and leagues thinking about the future of sports fashion

• Shot: Sports organizations have a traditionally rigid process for licensing their marks out to official providers (i.e., Fanatics) or external shops (i.e., ‘47 Brand). This is done for two reasons — 1. to ensure they get revenue from royalties, and 2. to protect their brand equity and reputation. This has meant sacrificing some creativity and appealing to a very traditional sports fan demographic.

• Shot: In fairness, organizations are getting smarter about this. Several teams have brought in notable designers or celebrities to be creative directors/strategists (New York Knicks and Kith founder Ronnie Fieg), a few teams have launched a private label merchandise brand (Brooklyn Nets unveiled Berō (pronounced “borough”), and some larger entities have done collaborations with major fashion houses (soccer club Paris Saint-Germain - Dior, NFL - Hugo Boss, OVO and Kith).

• Chaser: These are all a step in the right direction, but more can be done in fashion to help address some of the macro challenges sports face (aging fanbases, complex media rights, and more things competing for peoples’ interest) by bridging the gap between showcasing the players, connecting with women fans, and reaching younger audiences. Ultimately, the sports orgs can accomplish this by relaxing the licensing rules in more instances and look for opportunities to tap talented designers like Kristin Juszczyk, particularly in traditionally underrepresented categories, who are doing creative things. Actions like this will be rewarded with interest from a new audience that has the potential to help create a more diverse, fortified business.

🤯 “Whoa” of the Week

Insane, mind-blowing things constantly happen in the sports business world. Here was my favorite of the past week.

1. Speaking of Taylor Swift, here’s her impact on the NFL.

2. Another week. Another massive NFL Playoff weekend. This season’s Super Bowl may set a record.

3. Speaking of massive weekends, the PVF drew big numbers in its debut weekend. Women’s Volleyball 📈 

💪 Weekly Reminder that Sports are Awesome

This newsletter is, of course, mostly centered on the business side of sports and the things that happen off the field. That being said, it’s important to remember why we fell in love with sports in the first place, though.

This section is meant to highlight the amazing things that happened in sports this week that serve as that reminder.

1. I had 5+ people send me this New York Times article about the Twitter account that juxtaposes iconic sports photos with classic art pieces. This guy is a genius, and his accounts are truly a must follow.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what feedback you have.

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Until next time, sports fans!

-Alex