How the Bills rank (or don't rank) in NFLPA merchandise sales
Only six NFL teams failed to place anyone on the NFLPA’s new list of the top 50 players in officially licensed merchandise sales. The Buffalo Bills are one of them.
No Sammy Watkins.
No Tyrod Taylor.
No LeSean McCoy or Marcell Dareus or … Colton Schmidt.
The list covers NFLPA-related sales from March 1-Aug. 31 of 2016, or basically the period between the end of last season and the beginning of this one. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers and Detroit Lions were the other teams blanked.
The Dallas Cowboys – no surprise here – landed four players in the top 11. Wide receiver Dez Bryant is No. 1 overall. Quarterback Tony Romo checks in at No. 6, tight end Jason Witten at No. 10 and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott at No. 11. No doubt Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will appear on the next list - with a bullet.
Seventeen quarterbacks made the top 50, including Miami’s Ryan Tannehill (No. 50) but excluding the likes of Baltimore’s Joe Flacco, the Jets’ Ryan Fitzpatrick, Philip Rivers of the Chargers – and Tyrod.
Somehow they failed to resonate with fans at a level comparable to Cleveland Browns defensive back Joe Haden –No. 47 in the ranking.
Rob Gronkowski is No. 7 on the NFLPA list. (James P. McCoy/Buffalo News)
New England Patriots tight end and Western New York native Rob Gronkowski sits at No. 7, while Oakland Raiders DE/LB Khalil Mack, the former UB star, comes in at No. 18.
The NFLPA explains in its news release that the list is released quarterly via its licensing and marketing arm, NFL Players Inc., and is based on overall sales of all NFL player licensed products via online and traditional retail outlets as reported by more than 80 NFLPA licensees.
The ranking:
- Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas Cowboys
- . Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
- Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
- Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks
- Odell Beckham, WR, New York Giants
- Tony Romo, QB, Dallas Cowboys
- Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots
- Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers
- J.J. Watt, DE, Houston Texans
- Jason Witten, TE, Dallas Cowboys
- Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys
- Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
- Von Miller, LB, Denver Broncos
- Derek Carr, QB, Oakland Raiders
- Todd Gurley, RB, Los Angeles Rams
- Luke Kuechly, LB, Carolina Panthers
- Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland Raiders
- Khalil Mack, LB, Oakland Raiders
- Richard Sherman, DB, Seattle Seahawks
- Clay Matthews, LB, Green Bay Packers
- Carson Wentz, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
- Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay Packers
- Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Minnesota Vikings
- Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans
- Le’Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
- Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts
- Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
- Navorro Bowman, LB, San Francisco 49ers
- Julian Edelman, WR, New England Patriots
- Jared Goff, QB, Los Angeles Rams
- DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans
- Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals
- Jameis Winston, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants
- Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos
- Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
- Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons
- Alshon Jeffery, WR, Chicago Bears
- Jimmy Graham, TE, Seattle Seahawks
- A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
- Carlos Hyde, RB, San Francisco 49ers
- Eddie Lacy, RB, Green Bay Packers
- Jarvis Landry, WR, Miami Dolphins
- Brandon Marshall, WR, New York Jets
- Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington Redskins
- Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings
- Joe Haden, DB, Cleveland Browns
- Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle Seahawks
- Kam Chancellor, SS, Seattle Seahawks
- Ryan Tannehill, QB, Miami Dolphins
Share this article