Which US sports teams lose the most to counterfeit merchandise?
Whether you’ve been a die-hard fan of your favorite NFL or NBA team since you could throw a ball, or you’ve only just started dipping your toes into the world of sports in general, if there’s a team you love to support, then you might as well go all out on each and every gameday!
From donning that sacred face paint to decking yourself out from head-to-toe in your team’s sports gear, flying your team’s flag is all part of the fun. And while some of the wilder merchandise might be a tad expensive, pulling on a jersey and cheering the players on is a time-honored tradition.
But as with any industry, the US sports scene is not immune to the spread of counterfeit merchandise – far from it in fact! In the run-up to this year’s Super Bowl LIX alone, US police seized a whopping $39.5 million worth of counterfeit sports goods, and the problem is only growing.
But where do US sports fans stand on this issue? After all, if you could grab your team’s new shirt for half the price, wouldn’t you be a little bit tempted to go with the counterfeit version?
Well, to find out US sports fans’ feelings on the topic, we hopped online to gauge the general sentiment held by supporters of teams in the 5 major US sports leagues, and which states seem to be the true hub of this fake sports merchandise trade.
Here’s what we discovered!
Which team’s merchandising is causing the most controversy?
To begin with, we wanted to get a general view on how much fake merchandise is being discussed amongst fans in the US’s five major leagues, and which teams have found themselves getting tied up the most in such debates:
NFL
Starting with the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles topped our list for the most talked about team when it comes to fake merch, with 41,660 conversations taking place on the topic since last year (almost 1.5 times more than our 2nd ranked team).
Then we have the Kansas City Chiefs, who saw a substantially lower (but still high) 28,442 conversations total, followed by the Dallas Cowboys in third place, with 24,828 fan discussions on the merchandise situation.
NBA
Pivoting to the NBA next, the team with the highest number of conversations around fake sports merchandise are the Los Angeles Lakers, with roughly 8,911 taking place since last May – far lower than the levels of fake merch chats being seen in the NFL, but certainly the highest for the NBA.
After the Lakers, we then have the Boston Celtics, whose fans had a total of 7,632 conversations on counterfeit sports gear in the last year, with the Denver Nuggets then settling in third with 5,937.
MLB
As for fake merch in the MLB, it seems that fans of the New York Yankees have the most to say around fake team goods, holding 11,021 conversations on this topic over the previous 12 months – which perhaps isn’t that surprising given their team’s fame.
But the Yanks aren’t the only team dealing with false sporting goods problems, as the Los Angeles Dodgers cropped up in 8,555 conversations online, and the New York Mets in 6,848.
NHL
Skating on into the NHL, it seems that Florida Panther fans have the most to say on the topic of fake merchandise in this league, with 3,419 conversations debating this particular issue.
Of course, they’re not the only team whose fans feel the need to address this problem, with the Edmonton Oilers appearing in 2,529 fan chats on fake merch, and the New York Rangers another 2,196, further highlighting its prominence throughout The Big Five.
MLS
Finally, turning to the soccer side of things, the team here with the most fake merch issues appears to be Atlanta United. Featuring 2,720 fan discussions on the topic, this wound up being 1,000 more mentions than the team in second place.
And speaking of 2nd place, Inter Miami is the next soccer team having to deal with a rise in counterfeit goods, seeing 1,536 discussions going on between fans, alongside Columbus Crew, who are right on their heels with 1,524.
Which American sports fans are most against fake merch?
So, it’s clear that the spread of fake sports merchandise in the major US sports leagues is causing a whole lot of chatter online, but what percentage of this is actually negative? And is this negativity shared by a large or small proportion of the fan base?
NFL
Given that they took the number one spot for fake merch discussions in general, you probably won’t be shocked to hear that Philadelphia Eagles fans hold a distinct grudge against fake sports goods, with 38% of their 41,600 fan conversations having negative associations compared to just 4% being positive.
Also, high up on our list again, we have the Dallas Cowboys, with 18% of their 24,828 fan conversations being negative. Though opinions are certainly closer between fans for this team, as 8% were considered positive.
Lastly, third came the Cincinnati Bengals. Although they sat much lower on our ranking for conversations in general, a full 17% of these chats could be deemed negative, showing a clear dissatisfaction around the spread of fake merch for their team.
NBA
In terms of negative fan sentiment toward fake basketball merchandise, Chicago Bull fans appear to be the most vocal in this space, with a full 26% of fan conversations on this topic being negative.
This is then closely followed by supporters of the Memphis Grizzlies, where a fifth of all conversations (20%) held a negative sentiment, and then the Milwaukee Bucks in third, who saw 19% of chats being flagged with dissatisfaction around the topic.
MLB
As for America’s favorite pastime, it seems that Colorado Rockies fans are up in arms about the fake merch being peddled in their team’s name, with 17% of their 4,489 conversations on false sports having negative connotations.
And they’re certainly not the only ones in the MLB feeling this sentiment, as both the Texas Rangers and the Pittsburgh Pirates share second place for negative fan feelings at 16% a piece for online conversations.
NHL
Turning to teams in the NHL, by far the fans most aggravated by the spread of fake merchandise for their team are the Calgary Flames, with a full 25% of fan conversations on the topic being perceived as negative.
However, the Anaheim Ducks aren’t far behind. Despite only featuring in 719 chats around fake merch in the last year, at least 20% of these discussions fell into the negative category. A similar story also appears to be the case for the New York Islanders, with 16% of their fan conversations being negative as well.
MLS
Finally, when it comes to negative feelings on fake merch in the soccer sphere, Austin FC fans hold the most fury here, with 29% of all their online fan conversations on the topic noting their dissatisfaction with the fake merchandise problem.
Indeed, the next closest team in this area was FC Dallas, whose negative fan conversations reached 21%, while those around Chicago Fire FC hit 20%, which are both surprisingly high despite these teams having some of the lowest overall conversation levels in the last 12 months.
Which US sports fans are in favor of fake merchandise?
Despite the clear distaste for fake merchandise amongst US fans of all stripes, this negative sentiment is definitely not shared by everyone. In fact, as you’ll see below, there are several groups of fans out there who appear to be all for this fake merch spread:
NFL
When it comes to fans in the NFL who appear to be in favor of fake merchandise for their team, supporters of the Los Angeles Chargers take the top spot, with 11% of their 11,847 conversations speaking positively on false team goods. And given that the Chargers also had the least conversations online for the NHL, this perhaps isn’t that surprising to hear.
However, the same cannot be said for our 2nd place team for this factor. Sitting near the top of the table for total conversations, the Chicago Bears also saw 11% of their fans talking about counterfeit goods in a positive light, with 3rd place Kansa City Chiefs also being in a similar boat for 10% of their fan discussions.
Overall, though, when looking at the stats for the NFL in their entirety, it seems that the vast majority of fans are staunchly against counterfeit sports goods, with all fan conversations seeing a higher number of negative sentiments than positive.
NBA
As for how fans in the NBA view fake sporting goods, those backing the Houston Rockets are apparently all for it, with 16% of fake fan gear discussions being flagged as positive compared to 15% negative – the first team on our list with a higher positive preference for counterfeit sports merch.
And Rocket fans aren’t alone in this opinion, with 15% of 76er supporters advocating fake merch positively compared to 12% seeing it negatively, though the same is not true of supporters of the Atlanta Hawks who, despite having 13% of fans in favor of fake merch, still had a greater number of fans standing against it.
From here, stats for positive fake merch opinions in the NBA return to similar levels as the NFL, with only the San Antonio Spurs (13%-11%) and New Orleans Pelicans (12%-11%) also seeing greater fan favor for fake merch in general.
MLB
Hitting up the Major League Baseball scene next, Atlanta Braves fans have a shockingly high positive feeling around fake merch, with a massive 23% of fans discussions favoring the practice compared to just 10% sitting on the other side of the fence.
It’s also a similar story for the Boston Red Sox, where positive fake merch sentiment amongst fans sits at 19% to 10% being negative, while another 13% of Los Angeles Angles fans also speak positively on the issue.
And this swing toward favoring fake merch continues down the list of MLB teams, with the Cleveland Guardians (13%-8%), Philadelphia Phillies (11%-10%), and Miami Marlins (9%-8%) all having high levels of fan positivity towards fake merch from fans.
NHL
Looking over the NHL, this trend continues to make itself known, with both the Bostin Bruins and Seatles Krakens, who share matching positive fan sentiment around fake merch at 16%, followed close behind by the Carolina Hurricanes with 15%.
From here, we then see a similar spread of positive counterfeit opinions as most other leagues, with a fairly even mix of fan bases favoring positive or negative sentiments around the topic one way or the other.
MLS
Finally, despite having some of the lowest conversation totals overall for each of the 5 major US leagues, soccer actually seems to have the most fans showing favor for fake merch. Case and point, in first, we have the New England Revolution, with a shocking 34% of fans being positive on the subject to just 4% viewing it negatively!
And it’s a similar story for D.C. United, where 25% of fans held a positive stance on the matter. Though it’s not all one-sided for soccer fans, with FC Dallas fans holding firm on their negative sentiments (21%) despite 18% of the team’s supporters seeing fake merch as a positive thing.
Which US states see the most controversy around fake merch?
Last, but not least, to wrap up, we wanted to touch on which US states were the most vocal about their stance on counterfeit sporting merchandise – both in general and for each of the 5 major leagues.
And without a doubt, the clear overall winner in this department (if you could call them that), is Florida. Placing top for 3 of our 5 leagues, the Sunshine State is apparently America’s main hotspot for counterfeit controversies, alongside California and New York in second and third.
Breaking this down on a league-by-league basis, for the NFL, California placed top with 26 state mentions, followed by Texas (25), and Florida (24). Meanwhile, for the NBA, Florida strides into first with 28 mentions, before being tailed by California (24) and New York (14).
Next, for the MLB, we again see California and Florida duelling it out for position one, with California sneaking in ahead with 24 mentions to Florida’s 22 – a total it also shares with New York.
Lastly, for the NHL and MLS, we have Florida placing first in both with 31 and 15 mentions respectively, followed by New York (21) and California (19) in second and third for the NHL, with the states then flipping position for the MLS with 12 and 8 mentions.
So, with all that said and done, it’s clear that fake sporting merchandise is quite the hot topic amongst fans of all major US leagues. And given the clear divide in opinions on the subject and the growing prevalence of counterfeit goods in general, such a gap is only likely to get wider in the future.
Still sports legislation is always changing, and with US authorities clearly looking to clamp down on fake sports gear, we might see a sharp decline in available counterfeit merch sooner than we think.
Either way, if you want to stay up to date on everything US sports and betting related, then you can hop on over to InGame for all your essential sports news from around the States – that way, you’ll never miss an important update or detailed insight into any upcoming sporting events.
Methodology
We used Brandwatch to track online conversations around counterfeit merchandise related to every team in the NFL, NBA, MLS, NHL and MLB since May 2024.
Next, we analyzed the sentiment of these conversations to identify how many were positive or negative.
Finally, we mapped which U.S. states generated the most discussions about fake merchandise for each team to create our rankings.
