Ohio State retailers expect to take a hit from No. 5 jersey sales
No one wants the jersey of an injured player.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, Ohio State jersey retailers expect to take a significant hit this season because they have too many No. 5 jerseys and not enough people who want to buy them.
Ohio State announced earlier this week that quarterback Braxton Miller would miss the season after suffering an injury to his throwing shoulder. Even though Miller said he’d be back next season, no one wants to pony up the money in case that doesn’t work out.
“People want the numbers that are on the field, typically,” Kelly Dawes, owner of College Traditions near Ohio Stadium told the paper. “We felt it. Everybody who came in yesterday, they were all taking about” Miller’s season-ending shoulder injury.
Even though the jerseys don’t have Miller’s name on them — that’s against NCAA rules — most people associate that number with the star quarterback and not freshman linebacker Raekwon McMillan, who also wears that jersey.
Dawes told the paper the store has 1,000 No. 5 jerseys that sell for $90 - $140 each. If they don’t sell, that means the store could be missing out on nearly $100,000 in revenue.
Dawes said she spoke to Nike on Wednesday and asked if it could produce and send jerseys with the numbers 16, for new starting quarterback J.T. Barrett, or 97 for star sophomore defensive end Joey Bosa.
“We spoke with Nike yesterday about maybe coming out with No. 97 or No. 16,” Dawes told the paper. “ Whether they can get that done in time, I don’t know.”
But in the end, Dawes said her company would sit on the No. 5 jerseys that aren’t sold and hope that Miller comes back next season and that Ohio State doesn’t change its jersey design in 2015.
For more Ohio State news, visit BuckeyeGrove.com.
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