The NFL continues to seek new, upscale partners for its licensed merchandise, joining a wider trend seen across the multibillion-dollar industry.
Last week, the league announced a collaboration with Naadam, a cashmere clothing company, to sell team-branded sweaters for $380. On Monday, it announced a new collection with Lululemon to add team logos to a number of the athleisure brand’s more popular items, including sweatshirts ($148) and joggers ($128).
This marks the first time Lululemon has sold product featuring the logos of NFL teams. The gear will be sold and distributed across the league’s online shop and team stores, both online and on-site. Many of those are operated by Fanatics, in which the NFL has invested multiple times.
The products follow a three-way partnership between Fanatics, Lululemon and the NHL that launched last year. That collaboration, which started with a handful of teams before expanding to all 32, was proof of concept for many involved. According to Fanatics, on the day the initial collection dropped, the products accounted for 80% of the NHL sales across the company’s various e-commerce sites. For the entire 2024-25 regular season, Lululemon was among the five best-selling NHL brands.
“We know there is an opportunity to bring a premium option to sports fans,” Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald said on an earnings call in December.
Like the NFL, Fanatics has also prioritized recent partnerships with higher-end brands. That includes what the company calls “hype drops”—limited-run collaborations with celebrities, fashion houses or streetwear brands.
Recent examples include a collection of college sports gear with Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack brand, and a recent World Series partnership with The Weeknd. Those deals allow Fanatics to diversify its product—particularly in higher-end gear that its own eponymous brand doesn’t typically sell—and flex its wide distribution network.
Lululemon stock (Nasdaq: LULU) is down more than 50% so far this year, despite general health of the overall activewear market. The company’s founder, who stepped down from the company’s board more than a decade ago, recently paid for an ad in The Wall Street Journal accusing current executives of “dismantling” the company’s business model and prioritizing “Wall Street at the expense of customers.”