Sports merchandise is branded products that carry the name, logo, colours or image of a team, league, event or athlete and are sold to fans, most often as jerseys, caps, scarves and other apparel. It is a form of merchandising: the brand or image of one thing is licensed for use on other products [1]. Team identification and perceived value shape whether fans want it [2].
Key points
- Sports merchandise is licensed branding: the team, league or athlete lends its name and image to products sold to fans [1].
- Team identification, the bond a fan feels with a team, influences attitude toward team-licensed merchandise, and that attitude drives purchase intention [2].
- Fans value such products for functional, emotional and social reasons [2].
- Researchers link possessions to identity, so a jersey can work as a visible part of how a fan sees themselves [3].
- In the Play of Values view, merchandise is one revenue stream of the sports ecosystem, next to tickets, sponsorship and media rights.
Origin
No single person coined “sports merchandise”. The practice grew out of general merchandising. Walt Disney’s studio built a structured business model for “character merchandising”, licensing characters onto toys, clothing and other goods, and that model influenced the cinema, television and sports industries around the world [1]. Today, the most common adult-oriented merchandising is that related to professional sports teams and their players [1].
Academic study came from two directions. Consumer research framed possessions as a major contributor to, and reflection of, identity, an idea Russell Belk named the “extended self” in 1988 [3]. Sport psychology showed that strong identification with a team fosters feelings of belonging and self-worth [4]. Studies of team-licensed merchandise later combined the two [2].
How it works in sports media
A club or league can license its name and image for use on other products [1]. Demand rests on team identification, which fosters feelings of belonging and self-worth in fans [4]. In a study of 203 college sport fans, both team identification and perceived functional, emotional and social value shaped purchase attitude [2].
The type of product matters. The same study found that the link between team identification and perceived value was strongest for hedonic products (bought for enjoyment), while the link between identification and attitude was strongest for utilitarian products (bought for use) [2].
Examples
- Team-licensed merchandise of college sport teams, the case studied in fan research [2].
- Athlete-linked products, where a player’s personal brand sells goods beyond the team’s own range. See Athlete’s Brand.
- Character-style licensing borrowed from entertainment, where an image is put on toys, clothing and collectables [1].
Common questions
What is the difference between sports merchandise and sports equipment?
Equipment is used to play the sport. Merchandise carries a team, league or athlete brand and is bought by fans, usually to show support or identity [1].
Why do fans buy it?
Research on team-licensed merchandise finds that team identification and functional, emotional and social value shape the purchase attitude, and that attitude leads to purchase intention [2]. Wider theory says possessions help express identity [3].
Is merchandise only for winning teams?
Identification is a bond with the team, not only with results. Branscombe and Wann found that team success related to identification only for people who followed teams geographically distant from them [4].
Related terms
- Fan Engagement — how fans interact with and support a team beyond the match.
- Brand Equity (Sports) — the value of a sports brand that merchandise draws on.
- Sports Sponsorship — a sister revenue stream to merchandise.
- Athlete’s Brand — a personal brand that can lift merchandise sales.
- Sports Marketing — the wider field that covers merchandise.
- Influencer Athlete — athletes whose reach adds demand for related products.
Read more on Play of Values
- Marketable Athletes Over Winning — why star power can sell more than trophies.
- Sports Marketing History — how the business of selling sport developed.
- The Year of Caitlin Clark — one athlete’s effect on league activity.
Sources
- Wikipedia. (2025). Merchandising. Wikimedia Foundation. Link
- Kwon, H. H., & Kwak, D. H. (2014). Revisiting the team identification-value-purchase relationship in the team-licensed merchandise consumption context: A multidimensional consumer value approach. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 23(2), 107–117. https://doi.org/10.1177/106169341402300206
- Belk, R. W. (1988). Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research, 15(2), 139–168. https://doi.org/10.1086/209154
- Branscombe, N. R., & Wann, D. L. (1991). The positive social and self concept consequences of sports team identification. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 15(2), 115–127. https://doi.org/10.1177/019372359101500202