FedEx Field Employee Claims Parents Steering Kids Away from RGIII Jerseys
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The New York Times published a piece Monday about the struggles of Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III, whose detractors now include the parents of children who want to buy Griffin's jersey at FedEx Field. This is according to FedEx Field merchandise stand employee Antonio Smith Jr. From the Times:
“Ooh, a lot of people are backing off from RG3 right now, a whole lot of people,” Smith said before Sunday’s game against the Giants. He said sales of Griffin’s $100 jersey had fallen by half in recent weeks, and he described how several young fans on Sunday came up to him with their parents and asked for a Griffin jersey, only to have Mom or Dad steer them to another choice.
“Nah, you don’t want that guy’s jersey,” he said, quoting a typical exchange. “He’s not playing too well, and who knows if he’ll play well again?”
How quickly they fall. Last year at this time RG3 had the NFL's top-selling jersey, ahead of Peyton Manning in his first season as a Bronco, Tim Tebow, fellow rookie Andrew Luck, and others. On NFLShop.com, Griffin's uni still ranks in the top five based on sales from April 1 to September 30 of this season, during which Washington was 1-3 heading into its bye week.
Anyhow, if what Smith Jr. says is true, it's a powerful personal finance lesson for those tots: When your favorite player has a surgically repaired knee, takes a lot of hard hits, has his leadership questioned, maybe shouldn't be playing right now, and apparently has a rocky relationship with the head coach, maybe take a long look at a Brian Orakpo jersey that sells for $10 less.
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