• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, April 4, 2012

Nike is milking its moment in the sports world spotlight, with fans and football players alike buzzing about its new National Football League uniforms.

Between the heavily-hyped unveiling ceremony in Brooklyn, the massive pop-up shop in Manhattan showcasing the new look, and the big anticipation of the draft April 26, it looks like Nike is barreling into its five-year NFL contract just fine. And outgoing Reebok’s fan jerseys are finding their way into bargain bins.

Nike, of course, is busy talking up the technology in the new Nike Elite 51 uniform (51 turns out be the number worn by Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman). The lighter, body-contoured jersey make it easier for players to elude tackles, Flywire technology in the neckline both reduces weight and provides a tighter fit over pads, and articulated sleeves allow for more motion, for example.

But will any of that make a bit of difference to fans when they go jersey shopping? (Consumers can preorder the new jerseys beginning April 15, and buy them in stores April 26.) Not likely, observers say.

“It’s not as if a fan will say, 'Gee, I like this Nike jersey of my favorite player better than the Reebok one I bought last year,’’ Barry Janoff, executive editor of NYSportsJournalism.com, tells Marketing Daily. 

What will fuel jersey sales, he says, is Nike’s good luck in taking over during a year of high player turnover. “First of all, Peyton Manning, who typically is in the top 10 of jersey sales, is leaving the Indianapolis Colts and Tim Tebow, also a big seller, is joining the New York Jets. So many people will want those new jerseys.” Other high-profile player moves, such as Randy Moss signing with the San Francisco 49ers, will also boost sales. 

Besides, he adds, this year’s draft is an especially closely watched event, with the Colts expected to use their first-round pick for Stanford’s Andrew Luck, and the Washington Redskins predicted to tap Baylor’s Robert Griffin III, or RG3. “You can bet those jerseys will be on sale within 20 minutes,” he says. 

Nike reportedly paid $1.1 billion for the contract, and ESPN reports the deal generated between $350 million to $565 million per year in apparel sales for Reebok, and that sales of jerseys may more than double during the transition.

Still, in the big picture, NFL jersey sales aren’t all that important to Nike, says Sara Hasan, an analyst who follows Nike for investment firm McAdams Wright Ragen in Seattle. “In terms of longer term impact on the stock and how well apparel sells,” she tells Marketing Daily, “Nike is getting a lot of positive attention, as people get ready for the Olympics, as well as the European football championship. It’s all driven interest in the stock, and it seems to have recovered from some of the disappointment people had in recent results.”