Photo Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Photo Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

No matter how many times Chip Kelly grudgingly mutters that Sam Bradford is the Eagles’ quarterback next season, people won’t believe him… and that’ll probably remain the case until Bradford buries his hands ‘neath Jason Kelce’s everyman ass this fall. Among the non-believers are many merchants, at least according to Sam Donnellon, who found that few are stocking Bradford jerseys. A Sports Authority manager told his employees: “No big buys until we’re sure the guys who Chip brought in today are the same ones he will put on the field at summer’s end.” And at Modell’s? No one’s talking:

Just a few stores down from Lids in the Mall, Modell’s has two Murray jerseys displayed prominently in its window and a healthy supply in all sizes inside the store, selling for $100. But when I asked a worker on the floor whether they were getting Bradford shirts anytime soon, she eyed me suspiciously, asked why I wanted to know, and when I told her it was for a story, referred me to an 800 number. “I’m not allowed to comment on that,” she said.

On Modell’s website, a search for Sam Bradford brought up zero Eagles merch:

bradford modells

But that doesn’t mean you can’t find the jerseys anywhere. The store managers are understandably hesitant, but they should really keep waiting until about Week 4 to see if Bradford blows out his ACL again.

Kyle: I don’t know who runs what now, but when I worked at GSI Commerce in 2008, I believe the same buyer purchased NFL product (then from Reebok) for NFL.com and the online stores of Dick’s, Modell’s and Sports Authority. GSI has since been purchased by eBay and a portion of the sports business has been split off to founder and Sixers co-owner Michael Rubin’s new company, Kynetic, which owns Fanatics… which powers all the online stores for all the major sports leagues and many teams. Point is: Often times, when one person makes the decision not to buy, it could impact many retailers. It’s kind of nuts to think that the person managing Modell’s’s’s’ website sat next to the person managing Sports Authority’s website at one point, and in many cases it was the same person buying inventory for both. Awkward.