The National Football League and the NFL Players’ Association want fans to really get into this football season, and how better than to actually get into costume as your favorite player?
That idea is the concept behind the partnership with Jerry Leigh of California Inc., a design and branding firm that is designing a range of NFL-inspired costumes for adults, kids and even pets, in a deal brokered by Mix Licensing Group.
By combining the depth of the NFLPA roster and the power of the NFL teams, Jerry Leigh says it will develop innovative products including muscle tops, bottoms, sets, role play dresses, and role play accessories in men’s, women’s, youth, infant/toddler, and pet sizes. The product line will be available everywhere from NFL team stores to mass retailers just in time to celebrate the 2021 NFL season.
“The NFL is excited to welcome Jerry Leigh as a new licensee to help expand our reach into the costume and role-play aisle,” said Nikki Pozzi, Director of Consumer Products with the NFL. “NFL players are superheroes on and off the field, and this new costume product line will inspire fans to take their fandom to the next level as they transform into their favorite players.”
Jerry Leigh’s product line aims to usher in a new generation of fans who will get to emulate their favorite players such as Cam Jordan, Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, Larry Fitzgerald, Baker Mayfield, and Tua Tagovailoa, among many others.
“There is no denying the power of the NFL and NFLPA, and the devotion of the fans should be captured far beyond the sports aisle,” said Andrew Leigh, President of Jerry Leigh. “Our goal at Jerry Leigh is to redefine the family entertainment experience by engaging customers in meaningful ways with innovative products at retail in new aisles, new segments, and new channels.”
Jerry Leigh is a leading design, manufacturing and brand management firm, servicing the nation’s top retailers through a wide range of brands and licenses. With headquarters in Los Angeles, satellite offices in New York City and Orlando, and state-of-the-art manufacturing operations in Guatemala and Shanghai, the company’s 1000+ associates are dedicated to serving the needs of their brand and retail partners. Jerry Leigh distributes at all tiers of distribution, from boutiques to mass market, and manufactures a wide range of apparel that reflects consumer lifestyles.
“It’s great to work with licensing partners like Jerry Leigh and create products featuring a variety of NFL players, whose personalities, performances and impact in their communities make them fan favorites and role models for kids,” said Terése Whitehead, VP of Consumer Product & Strategy, NFL Players Inc. “This exciting new collection of player inspired costume apparel only strengthens those attributes and will appeal to the imagination of fans.”
Michael Eichberg, VP of Sales & Business Development at Jerry Leigh, hopes the costumes inspire fans to be their best, whatever that might mean for the individual person. “When kids put on a muscle suit of their favorite player from their favorite team, they get to become them,” Eichberg said. “They don’t need a cape to run faster, try harder, and dream bigger. Instead, they celebrate human superpowers like raw talent, determination, and persistence—all qualities that we are trying to inspire here at Jerry Leigh.”