The United States of NFL Jersey Sales

He’s #2. But Johnny Manziel places #1 in jersey sales.

The nationwide “Jersey Report” put out by Dick’s Sporting Goods, reported by Fansided, looked at the top-selling NFL jerseys on a state-by-state basis.

Here’s what the the “Jersey Report” found:

• The Buffalo Bills may be New York’s worst team, but they outsell both the New York Giants and the New York Jets.
• The New York Giants sell the most jerseys in Connecticut and New Jersey, leaving the Jets holding the bag as not being a favorite team in any state.
• Other teams also bearing the dubious distinction of not selling the most jerseys in any state are the San Diego Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Miami Dolphins. The 49ers lead the way in California and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sell the most jerseys in Florida.
• If you are thinking: what about the Raiders? They lead Montana in most jerseys sold.
• Arkansas, which doesn’t boast an NFL team, sells more NFL jerseys of the Pittsburgh Steelers than any other team.
• You might call it the Manziel effect in Oklahoma. The Cleveland Browns top jersey sales among Sooners.
• Of the non-contiguous states, Alaska favors the St. Louis Rams, the only state that does. Meanwhile, Hawaii prefers the Carolina Panthers, who play some 5,000 miles away.
• The Patriots lead the way in five states capturing all of New England save Connecticut, while Denver Broncos rule in four states, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico.
• The individual player jersey that leads the sales charts is Cleveland Brown rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel, who edged out Broncos QB Peyton Manning, and Colts QB Andrew Luck.

While geographic quirks, such as Montana favoring the Raiders or Nebraska wearing Redskins gear, characterize the football jersey map, predictability describes the best sellers. Offensive players, including seven quarterbacks, constitute all but one of the top-ten sellers. Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly stands out as the only defensive player in the top ten.