Sports are big money in the United States. Look at the salaries of professional athletes or attend major sporting events and you’ll see that there is a lot of money moving around.
The NFL, NBA NHL, MLB and MLB each bring in around $11 billion annually in revenue. That’s before expenses like paying their average players anywhere between $1.25 million (on a low end in National Football League) and nearly $5 million for the average player of the National Basketball Association.
Add to that $52 billion each year spent in the U.S. for sports equipment and $57 billion for sports apparel and shoes, the money keeps coming. It doesn’t matter what resource you use for defining the global sports market, the numbers are astounding. An estimate of the amount of money sports bring to the U.S. is $425 billion per year.
It’s not surprising that sports memorabilia, and collectibles in general, can make a lot of money 메이저놀이터. There are many people who make a living selling sports collectibles online, including giant retailers and sports franchises.
Collectibles in sports are extremely popular, and they have a wide appeal. Collectors can buy miniature Oklahoma Sooners football helmets and autographed hockey sticks signed by pro stars. They also purchase virtually any item with their favorite baseball or football team’s logo. Tiger Woods, a professional athlete, doesn’t have a team. But you’ll find over 3000 items from eBay that are related to him. His own line of golf apparel (the Tiger Woods Collection) makes hundreds of million every year.
Because there aren’t hard and fast numbers specifically associated with sports collectibles one can only assume that individuals and large corporations are all making money in the sports memorabilia industry. The numbers are only going to keep growing.
It is obvious that the individual popularity of an athlete, or the rise/fall of a certain team’s success can have an impact on the value of collectibles.
Lance Armstrong’s merchandise was hot when he was still racing and winning Tour de France. Lance’s merchandise, while still very popular among the biking community today isn’t as well-received as it was in the past. Same goes for former Atlanta Falcons standout Michael Vick whose merchandise was removed from stores shelves. Today, it’s available for pennies on eBay.
What are the current trends in sports collectibles? How can you make money collecting? Experts agree that the trends are always changing. According to the National Basketball Association (NBA), sales of NBA Hardwood Classics jerseys increased by three times in the last three year. NASCAR is the fastest-growing sport, as its popularity has grown across the nation.
Online retailers have the advantage of being able quickly to profit from sports team victories. If a team wins the Super Bowl, or the NBA World Championships, their merchandise and collectibles sales soar. Online retailers often have a faster pace than their bricks-and mortar counterparts. This allows them to quickly post hot merchandise online, and take advantage of selling while the fire is still hot.
Favre merchandise was almost immediately posted on online retailers after the recent trade of Green Bay’s Brett Favre from the New York Jets. The sales of 24 karat Gold New York Jets coins or NFL coins, as well as brand new #4 Jets jerseys were brisk.
The depth and breadth of the field are what drives the memorabilia, collectible and sports memorabilia industries. Street & Smith Sports Business Journal recently reported that NFL fans spend nearly the same amount annually on licensed products than they do on college products. These products bring in more $2.5 billion a years.
The person who buys sports collectibles means something to them. Fans buy memorabilia and merchandise because they love their teams and want to be part of something special.
Collecting sports memorabilia can be compared to collecting art. Collecting sports memorabilia is a hobby that people do because they love it and not because they expect it will increase in value. Collectibles can be appreciated, as well as sports items that were not considered collectibles at one time.
No one saved a jersey in 1893 when the first Stanley Cup was won by a Montreal-based nine-man hockey team. The jerseys are visible in photos taken during that period, but none have been found. Sports experts estimate that one of the jerseys could sell for as high as $400,000 if it turns up. Most likely, it would be from the Hockey Hall of Fame curators in Toronto.
Sports collectibles will continue to thrive because of the combination of appreciation and love for the sport. For the lucky retailers and leagues that are in this highly lucrative industry, official licensed merchandise from U.S. professional teams and colleges will be worth more than $10 Billion this year.