From Defeat to Victory: The Journey of Losing Team Championship Shirts
After sports championships like the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, World Series, and other major sporting events, fans want to be able to purchase championship gear as soon as the winner is declared. Branded merchandise companies pre-print merchandise like shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and towels for both teams so that these items are available immediately after the championship ends. What happens to all of the gear created for the losing team? Luckily, instead of wasting this perfectly usable merchandise, much of it gets donated to charitable organizations that distribute the items to individuals in need.
The National Football League (NFL)’s excess merchandise partner is Good360, a charitable organization based in Alexandria, Virginia. Good360 steps in to repurpose the losing team championship shirts and other gear. The losing Super Bowl and conference championships teams’ merchandise is held in inventory locations across the U.S. and following the games, Good360 is informed of how much product is available. They determine where the donations can best be of service internationally and decide which of their pre-qualified overseas partners to distribute the merchandise to. After the 2021 Super Bowl, masks for protection from COVID-19 were also included in packages distributed by Good360 to its charitable partners.
“That’s really important for us, that we make sure that we align where the products are going based on need, and not just not just sending them blindly into a region where they may not be needed,” Good360 Chief Development Officer and Chief Marketing Officer Shari Rudolph told USA Today.
Good360 has distributed more than $9 billion in goods since the organization’s inception and also works with many other partners to facilitate donations including Nike, Disney, and Major League Baseball (the MLB).
For almost two decades before Good360 took over the NFL’s excess goods distribution in 2015, an international humanitarian aid organization called World Vision facilitated donations of goods for NFL and MLB runners-up. World Vision shipped the merchandise to countries around the world, including Zambia, Bosnia, Romania, Armenia, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Mongolia, Uganda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, and Rwanda.
As the licensed sports merchandise industry grows, each championship will lead to more shirts, hats, and other branded merchandise. At least the losing teams and their fans can take comfort in knowing that their gear is being put to good use by individuals who need it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the fate of losing team championship shirts doesn’t end in despair. Instead, they embark on a journey of goodwill, turning disappointment into hope for those in need, thanks to the generosity of charitable organizations and ethical business practices.
Does your company have its own obsolete branded merchandise you’d like to keep from becoming waste and matched with a good cause? We can help! Learn more about how SwagCycle can help your company or organization repurpose, recycle, and donate your obsolete branded merchandise.
Sources:
- https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/29884/what-happens-losing-teams-championship-shirts
- https://www.fox43.com/article/news/what-happens-to-the-championship-gear-made-for-the-losing-team-of-super-bowl-liv/521-0ce340e3-4cb5-4f0c-90e5-52651b0646c5
- https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/02/us/super-bowl-2020-merchandise-spt-trnd/index.html