4 reasons fans are flocking to buy James Conner jerseys

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you may have heard that Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner has the best-selling rookie jersey in the National Football League.

James Conner has the NFL's best-selling rookie jersey https://t.co/uVFnhKu7bk via @ProFootballTalk — Bob Pompeani (@KDPomp) July 19, 2017

And if you don’t live under a rock, you might already own the hottest piece of cloth in the league. According to ESPN, Conner’s jersey has only been outsold by one player in all of 2017: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. The former Pitt running back recently passed Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott for the second spot overall.

Conner was the 105th player taken in this year’s NFL Draft. Selected in deep into the third round, Conner wasn’t even in the top five at his position selected, as he was the eighth overall running back to go off the board.

So why is James Conner’s jersey such a hot commodity? I have a handful of educated guesses answering that very question.

He’s a hometown hero

My top guess as to why Conner’s jersey is selling so well: he was already a star in the Steel City. Conner played his college days at the University of Pittsburgh. The Panthers share the same practice and home game facilities as the Steelers. Therefore, he has instant brand recognition among those in Steelers Nation who are also Pitt fans.

It’s not often that a true hometown player gets selected by the Steelers. Well, at least not in the modern era, where Conner has become the 11th Pitt product since 1970 to be drafted by the organization. (Prior to the 70’s, the team was nearly stocked with nothing but Pitt players!)

Pitt standouts like Aaron Donald and Larry Fitzgerald have carved out great NFL careers, but their paths were never truly destined to carry on from the Panthers to the Steelers. In fact, the last athlete from Pitt who was drafted by the Steelers was Hank Poteat in 2000.

I doubt Hank or the 1993 selection of Alex Van Pelt in the eighth round ever had fans as excited about a hometown hero like James Conner currently does. But there may be additional reasons why fans are gobbling up number 30 in bunches.

He’s an inspiration

People love an inspirational story, but what if that story was a work in progress, before your very eyes?

Such is the tale of James Conner, whose Cinderella story includes overcoming a torn MCL (knee) in Pitt’s 2015 season opener, and then missing the remainder of that same season after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Rather than being down and out, Conner rebounded to beat cancer and rehabbed into rushing for over a thousand yards and 16 touchdowns in 2016.

Who wouldn’t want to support someone who is such an inspiration by buying their jersey?

A rookie jersey could be more valuable to own

Jerseys don’t come cheap, and as such, most fans without a dispensable income make wise decisions when they part with their money.

That smart money puts the jerseys of veterans, legendary players, and rookies on the backs of fans more than anyone else. Incoming rookies are typically signed to a maximum allowed four-year contract. That means a worthwhile rookie jersey can be worn for at least four seasons. First round picks could be optioned for a fifth-year, while players selected elsewhere in the draft could return to the team on a multi-year deal.

Translation: barring any setbacks, Conner’s uniform will be in style for the foreseeable future.

Bell isn’t guaranteed to be in Pittsburgh past 2017

The flip side of buying a jersey is if a player isn’t under contract. With the failure of Le’Veon Bell and the Pittsburgh Steelers coming to terms on a contract extension, sales of number 26’s jersey could come to a halt in 2017. Bell is only guaranteed to be on the Steelers roster this year. He could be franchise tagged once more in 2018, but without a long-term deal, Bell could be on another roster beyond that.

Or if the Steelers don’t exercise their option to tag him once more, Bell could be elsewhere as soon as the 2018 season.

See the above comments about the cost of a jersey, which could range from a starting price of $100 on up. Spending that amount of money on a shirt that could go out of style in less than 12 months isn’t a wise investment.

Hence, all of the many reasons Conner’s jersey is enjoying a run atop the sale charts.

By Joe Kuzma Founder and Head Writer of Steel City Underground. Crusher of trolls. Voice of reason. Can’t decide whether I like the Steelers more than craft beer. Why do I have to choose? Follow @joe_kuzma

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