Both of my sons are huge pro football fans. They are glued to the television all day every Sunday from September to February so they don’t miss a minute of the action. Their favorite team is the Chicago Bears, but they like several other squads as well. After all, they keep on watching the late games even after the Bears are done playing. They also have a bunch of favorite players from around the league. Being the true fans that they are, my boys want to proudly proclaim their loyalty to these players — which is why I’ve spent a small fortune on youth NFL jerseys in the past couple years.
Most of the time, kids clothes are a lot cheaper than adult versions, but that’s not really the case with pro football apparel. If you walk into your local Sports Authority, you can expect to pay anywhere from $40 to $60 for authentic youth NFL jerseys. That’s pretty steep, especially when you consider that I’m buying for two and have to keep making new purchases as the boys grow. So for this past season, in an effort to protect my wallet a bit better, I started looking around for cheap youth NFL jerseys instead of paying retail.
What I’ve learned is that there are several ways to get cheap youth NFL jerseys. First, you can check for clearance items at bricks and mortar stores or online retailers. The clearance racks are usually filled with the names and numbers of players that are no longer active with the team. This includes guys that have changed teams due to trades or free agency, or that have retired. So if you want a Shawne Merriman jersey, you can pay full price for his new Buffalo Bills gear or pay about a quarter of the price for an old San Diego Chargers model. I personally wouldn’t mind wearing an outdated jersey, but my sons won’t hear of it.
Another great place to get youth NFL jerseys cheap is to check eBay. Many times you can find auctions for brand-new youth NFL jerseys, giving you the opportunity to score a very low winning bid. Obviously, one drawback to going the auction route is that you’re not guaranteed to get the jersey you want at a price you’re comfortable with since it’s easy for someone to outbid you. Another drawback is that you can’t be 100 percent sure you’re getting fully authentic youth NFL jerseys from the auctions, despite the claims that the sellers make from the outset. Knockoffs are a huge problem these days, so that’s something to beware of. That being said, I’ve made many successful purchases from eBay in the past few months.
And finally, you can always try the old fashioned way of saving money: waiting for the item you want to go on sale. While it does take plenty of patience and perseverance to monitor prices like this, the biggest benefit is that you can eventually make your purchase with complete confidence from a trusted retailer.
If there are kids in your life that are big football fans, you’ll probably find yourself shopping for youth NFL jerseys someday. Hopefully these tips will help you save a bit of cash as you support your favorite teams!