I’ve Had Enough With The Throwback Jerseys, And Pink Too

Seriously, enough is enough. I watch football for entertainment not to get a headache. Halloween apparently came a few days early this Sunday when the 1934 Pittsburgh Steelers throwback uniforms took the field. Black and yellow stripes, knee-high bumblebee inspired socks and garish vomit colored pants all combined into one of the worst looking sports uniforms I’ve ever seen. I was afraid for a moment that I had perhaps accidentally ordered a pay-per-view WWE match.

The money grab is getting a bit old. At least the pink crap is off the field now, that’s the most depressing of the money grabs.

According to Business Insider, the NFL’s October Breast Cancer Awareness Month fundraising effort is multi-pronged. There’s the on-field onslaught of pink (AWARENESS), the off-field auction of autographed or otherwise noteworthy NFL paraphernalia (MONEY FOR THE CURE!), and the part of the NFL store that entices shoppers to purchase officially licensed NFL breast cancer gear, a portion of which goes to FINDING A CURE. According to the League, 100% of the proceeds from the specialty auction go to the American Cancer Society, but the total percentage of purchases of officially licensed gear that actually goes to FINDING A CURE is actually kind of pathetic — 5%. If you want to look at this cynically, in a way, the on-field wearin’ o’ the pink serves as an ad to direct consumers to purchase pink fan items.

BUT WAIT, you might say, AT LEAST THEY’RE DOING SOMETHING. And 5% is still something! Well, kind of. As BI pointed out, if NFL products are sold at a 100% markup and only 5% of sale proceeds go to the American Cancer Society, then the NFL is pocketing 90% of sales of Breast Cancer Awareness products, many of which would not be purchased if they didn’t come with a promise that consumers were “helping.” And, more perspective: while the American Cancer Society isn’t, say, Komen, they still don’t use 100% of the money they receive to “fight” breast cancer. Only 70% of donations taken in by the organization go toward cancer research. So, if you spend $10 on pink stink from the NFL, only about 35 cents is going to finding a cure for breast cancer. And $4.50 goes right back to the NFL, where I like to imagine that it’s spent on gas for a Lake Minnetonka pleasure cruise. For the cure.Everyone knows why teams dust off vintage uniforms: to sell more merchandise. Everyone also knows that the average NFL club is worth $1.14 billion. Which is why we’re respectfully begging NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, for that matter) to put an end to this nonsense.

via Jezebel

Stop dusting off the vintage uniforms to sell more merchandise and while you’re at it why don’t you scrap the pink too. The average NFL club is worth $1.14 billion, how much more do you really need Roger Goodell?