The Most Expensive Replica Jerseys in World Sport
It can be difficult to determine which sports team’s jerseys are the most expensive, but at Gambling.com, we've crunched the numbers to work out which organization charges the most and least across the world's most popular leagues.
To establish this, we looked at the 162 teams across the Premier League, NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, and Australian Football League, averaging the current cost of their home shirt in men’s, women’s, and youth sizes.
Not every team in baseball, ice hockey, or basketball has an option for the latter two categories, though. Some teams only provide special edition or alternate shirts for women, for instance.
However, among the teams that provide a standard home option for both sexes, adults and kids, the Denver Broncos came out on top of the pile, with their average cost being $127.71.
Broncos fans, don't get too upset; your team has the priciest shirts from the teams that offer replica jerseys in all categories.
The NHL's Florida Panthers are actually the most expensive overall, but that's because they don't offer replicas for kids. Therefore, their average is based on the price of their men's and women's offerings.
Below, we break down the averages and work out where the best value for money lies in the replica shirt industry.
Men’s Shirts
If we focus purely on men’s shirts, as every team has those, then fans of Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur are asked to spend the most to dress like their heroes.
As with many Premier League teams, Spurs have two types of home shirts. Though clubs brand them slightly differently, they are essentially "elite" (a true version of what the players wear) and "stadium" (a more standard replica). Tottenham’s elite shirt for 2022-23 costs a cool $140.49.
They aren’t alone in breaking the $125.00 barrier, either. Six other teams do, though two of them (the San Jose Sharks and Miami Dolphins) offer a limited edition/anniversary shirt as their standard.
Newcastle United is perhaps the most interesting of the above teams, as its elite shirt is also available in youth sizes for $107.91, while other clubs only offer that option for adults.
Most Expensive Sport
Fans of ice hockey are charged the most on average to wear the home shirts of their beloved team. This is because of their adult jerseys, as the NHL shirts in youth sizes (which are available for 26 of the 32 teams) are the second cheapest on average across the six sports in our study.
Unfortunately for grown-up NHL supporters, there isn’t a home shirt for men or women that costs less than $122.17. Of course, no fan will switch teams or even sports based on shirt price, but hockey is the only one of the six leagues where no adult home jersey is less than that price.
As the above table shows, the second most expensive shirts are those from football. However, every replica jersey comes with a player’s name and number as standard, and the NFL might be further down the standings if that were the case in the other sports.
Below, we've ranked all 32 NFL franchises in order of the most expensive average replica shirt price.
Average Price And Battle Of The Sexes
The average cost of a home shirt for a team across the six major sports is a remarkable $98.30. For many supporters, dressing the part is an integral aspect of their game day experience, be that cheering on from the stands, watching the game at a bar, or even simply enjoying the action at home. It is not cheap to be so committed to your team of choice.
The disappointing news for female sports fans is that their shirts cost more on average than the standard versions for their male counterparts, though many teams only offer special, anniversary, or limited-edition jerseys for women.
The average cost of a replica shirt is $13.12 more for women than it is for men. Another way to highlight the issue would be to note that where only seven teams have shirts that cost more than $122.17 in the male section, there are 56 (or over a third of our sample) for women. Fewer teams carry their shirts than youth sizes, too.
Best Value Sports And Teams
As per the earlier table, the Australian Football League has the cheapest home shirts (though they are sleeveless "guernseys" in that sport). They also have the shortest margin between the cheapest and most expensive average, with the gap a relatively narrow $18.62. Even their most expensive standard guernseys only cost a relatively kind of $87.27, which is far below the prices charged in other sports.
The best-value shirts for any of the 162 teams come surprisingly from the Premier League, though, and they provide good value in two senses. Unlike most clubs, which change their team colors every year, Brentford will be using the same home shirt for both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. At $59.86 for adults and $46.42 for youth sizes, it’s also the most cost-effective offering in the six sports we have investigated.
Most Expensive Clubs
To finish, here’s a look at the 50 most expensive clubs:
With 26 of the 32 National Hockey League teams included, there’s no doubt that hockey is the most expensive sport to follow if you want to dress in the home shirt of the team for whom you root.
Data was compiled in the UK in June and July 2022, with currencies calculated using exchange rates at the time. The most expensive replica jersey available online for men, women and children in each club store has been applied in each category.
