NFL Player Figurines are going back to school

Posted on April 30th, 2009. Written by Emmett Jones.

Specifically, NFL players figurines are going back to college, thanks in large part to McFarlane Toys, who will be releasing a figurine set of popular NFL players, in their college uniforms.

…McFarlane Toys has licenses with the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL and has been ”producing action figures of professional athletes for more than a decade, but never before has the company tapped the college market.” The first six players that will have a college-themed action figure are Patriots QB Tom Brady (Michigan), Ravens LB Ray Lewis (Miami), Colts QB Peyton Manning (Tennessee), Vikings RB Adrian Peterson (Oklahoma), Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell (LSU) and Steelers WR Hines Ward (Georgia).

The players involved will be paid some sort of royalty payment as part of the deal.  The “action figures” themselves should be available in stores like Wal-Mart, Target, and Toys ‘R’ Us by August, and will retail for around $10.

I expect these collectibles to sell like wild-fire.  I can’t completely explain it, but America loves sports collectibles.  I know people that have storage rooms full of Starting Lineup figures, and there are already sustainable online marketplaces for the buying and selling of figurines (on top of that, the various figurine shows/card shows as well).  Don’t believe me?  Look at the NFL shop after searching for “bobble heads”.

The article also mentions that FatHead is looking into making FatHeads based on NFL players in their college uniforms as well.  So…yeah, there’s that too.  I’m kind of surprised that FatHead, which I assume is the official provider of large oversized wall posters of the NFL hasn’t gone the route of recreating famous plays, or famous duos or teams.  I think people would much rather see a Jerry Rice FatHead where he’s catching the ball over a defender, than Rice by himself.

Just a thought.

Sports Business Daily — McFarlane toys to release figures of NFL stars in college gear

1 Responses »

1. 

   Sports Card Collector

   September 27, 2009 • 5:25 pm

   You were dead on about the McFarlanes catching on like wild fire. Despite being in the midst of a recession, they had some impressive sales numbers.

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