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The Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl berth has been good news for its merchandise business, with the team ringing up about $3.5 million in online sales in the 10 days after they clinched a spot in the big game.
To put that number in perspective, it’s about the same amount they sold over the entire 2016 season, the first year back in Los Angeles, Chief Operating Officer Kevin Demoff said on the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast. The numbers don’t include sales at the stadium or in stores.
“We had a fantastic honeymoon when we came back in 2016, but those were people who were just excited the NFL was back,” said Demoff, whose team faces the New England Patriots on Sunday. “We’ve built a fan base steadily over the past three years. Now, playing in the Super Bowl, it’s got L.A. excited.”
The team’s online merchandise sales in that 10-day period were also eight times larger than the previous 10 days, according to Fanatics, the official e-commerce partner of the NFL. That stretch included the win over the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional playoffs. Looking at the entire NFL postseason, Los Angeles running back Todd Gurley is the second-highest-selling player for Fanatics, trailing only Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
From a larger business perspective, the Rams’ Super Bowl berth comes at an opportune time for the team, which competes locally for fan attention with some of the premier names in professional and college sports, including the Lakers, Dodgers and UCLA. The Rams are currently selling season tickets for their new $4.9 billion stadium project, an easier pitch when the team is playing in the Super Bowl.
“What’s the value of going to the Super Bowl? It’s really the long tail of getting people excited,” Demoff said. “It’s about trying to convince that person who might be a casual fan to become an avid fan. That’s the greatest benefit we can get from a Super Bowl run, whether we win or lose.”
— With assistance by Michael Barr
