Going Out of Style: Chicago Bulls' Dip in NBA Merchandise Sales is Another Wake-Up Call

As they do every year, the NBA officially announced the top-selling NBA team merchandise for the first half of the 2025-26 campaign.

To most, the list will come as no surprise. Los Angeles sits atop the leaderboard, with the East-contending New York Knicks stationed right behind. The Warriors, Spurs, and 76ers round out the Top 5, while the Celtics, Timberwolves, Thunder, Mavericks, and Nuggets complete the Top 10. In other words, it's a list made up of teams that are either positioned for a Finals run or home to one of the biggest stars in the NBA.

Nevertheless, there is one glaring omission: The Chicago Bulls. While they may not feel like a proper fit alongside the other teams, they have been a mainstay on the merchandise sales list for the last handful of years. In fact, they ranked Top 5 in 2024-25, 2023-24, and 2022-23. They also ranked in at least the Top 7 in 2021-22 and 2020-21. Need I go on?

The Bulls have long remained one of the league's most iconic brands. Even though they would never sit high in current player jersey sales, their name recognition, expansive fanbase, and Michael Jordan ties have kept them among the most marketable and profitable teams in the NBA.

But is the nearly decade-long stretch of mediocrity finally catching up to them?

Dec 23, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Chicago Bulls fans reach out to players after a victory against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Many locals have tied the team's high ticket and merchandise sales to their lack of urgency. Whether or not that's fair is up for debate, but it does seem easier to accept subpar results when the money keeps coming in. Now, to be sure, the money isn't going to ever stop coming in altogether. The Bulls will remain a multi-billion-dollar business. However, any dip provides a reason to re-evaluate things, and that feels particularly true as the 2025-26 NBA trade deadline nears.

Indeed, it's hard not to see this news and instantly think about a report that surfaced last week. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times noted that Arturas Karnisovas' front office is finally feeling "pressure" to produce different results. Again, we can not necessarily assume this has anything to do with the business side, but both pieces of news do underscore the same point: The current results are increasingly not good enough.

The Chicago Bulls have made one playoff series since the conclusion of the 2016-17 season. They also have one winning season and have finished with either 39 or 40 wins in each of their previous three campaigns. Even with the addition of some fun and high-upside young pieces over the last two seasons, fans want to see winning results. The longer you go without that, the more irrelevant you will become. And that's really what this drop in merchandise sales speaks to.

Most people aren't spending less on the Bulls because of their "upset" with the franchise. Might some diehard fans feel that way? Sure. But sports are largely held up by the more casual fan. The less you're on the bar TV or talked about on the city streets, the less those fans are going to gravitate toward a Bulls hat or shirt. What's cool about losing?

While it's surely going to take more than a couple of trades to restore relevancy at the United Center, there is no question that it could be a strong start. That's why all eyes remain set on February 5. The Bulls are better positioned than most to make some meaningful moves, and all signs keep telling them it's time to take advantage of that.