A Full Court Press on Entertainment-and-Sports Team-Ups

Collaborations that pair properties from the world of entertainment and sports have been on the rise in the past year, as animated IP, musicians, and preschool characters team with athletes, clubs, and leagues in innovative ways. This is not a new phenomenon; however, a higher-than-average amount of energy has been devoted to this type of initiative of late.

Some examples, five of which took place this summer:

• The NBA entered into a collaboration with apparel brand Hyperfly and My Hero Academia, licensed by Crunchyroll. Exclusive t-shirts, hoodies, and jackets paired imagery from the anime series with graphics tied to the Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, and Golden State Warriors. The Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, and Portland Trail Blazers are expected to join the program as well. The first products debuted at NBA Con in Las Vegas in early July of this year, with the retail launch coming in the fall, while the e-commerce platforms of Hyperfly, Lids, Crunchyroll, and the NBA Store (in the U.S., Canada, and Japan) will also sell the merchandise. The collaboration marks the NBA’s first partnership with an anime property.

• Also in July, Forest Green Rovers, a football (soccer) club that plays in League Two of the English Football League, announced that it had paired with The Grateful Dead and carbon-negative vegan apparel brand I Dress Myself. The partners created a collection of t-shirts and hoodies featuring graphics integrating the Dead’s skeleton, Green Skull, and lightning bolt iconography. The men’s first team will wear the pieces as travel wear in the 2023-2024 season. (A number of European football clubs have similarly paired with musicians for alternate kits over the past last few years.) FIFA and the United Nations have named Forest Green Rovers, a vegan and carbon-neutral operation, as the world’s greenest football club.

• In a third July example, Blippi, the influential live-action YouTube brand for preschoolers, paired with Liverpool Football Club for a partnership that includes both content and a retail product range. The content includes an episode where Blippi visits the club and discovers what it’s like to be a football mascot, with the help of Liverpool’s Mighty Red. The first drop of the products, which debuted on July 10 at LFC shops, included t-shirts and a hoodie, while a second drop in November is expected to offer pajamas, a scarf, and accessories.

• The Grateful Dead have been busy in the sports merchandise arena this summer, also pairing with apparel label Homage to create a line of three t-shirts combining The Joe Ryan Experience (the Instagram account and nickname of pitcher Joe Ryan), Ryan’s Major League Baseball team, the Minnesota Twins, and the band. The collection, for which Ryan was closely involved in the design process, features images such as the Dead’s skeleton pitching while wearing a version of Ryan’s Twins uniform with the Dead’s lightning bolt design on one shin. The items debuted in June of this year. Ryan is from the Bay Area—his uncle worked for Jerry Garcia—and a big Grateful Dead fan who uses one of the group’s songs as his walk-up music.

• Major League Soccer teamed with Marvel and Adidas for a collection that debuted in early June with the first of three drops set for this summer. The inaugural assortment included Avengers-themed warm-up jackets and pants, along with an official match ball (which was used during the MLS All-Star Game in July). That was followed by Captain America warm-up tops later in June, with the third release, Avengers tops, set for August. The products are available at select MLS retail locations, the MLS e-commerce site, and at MLS arena retail stores in the District of Columbia area, where the All-Star Game was held.

• In February, Nashville Soccer Club paired with the estate of Johnny Cash, along with Sandbox Succession and Wasserman Music, to release a Man in Black kit. The idea was inspired by Nashville’s fan club, The Backline Supporters Collective, which created a tifo that featured an image of Johnny Cash alongside Nashville SC’s logo. (A tifo is a giant banner or flag made by fans to display across a section of the most avid supporters during a game.) The pieces are black with dark grey highlights and various design elements inspired by the country singer, who had strong ties to Nashville. In addition to being worn on the field during the 2023 and 2024 Major League Soccer seasons, the kit will be available to fans on the club’s website. Future collaborative merchandise drops will be offered through Fanatics, the club’s retail partner, throughout the two seasons.

• Lacrosse Unlimited worked with Peanuts for a UNLTD x Peanuts collaboration last November that included t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, hats, and lacrosse balls. The graphics featured Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and Woodstock carrying lacrosse sticks, many highlighting the phrase “Just Laxin.” The term laxin has a dual meaning, not only signifying being chill, but referring to long-time lacrosse players as well. Lacrosse Unlimited, one of the leading suppliers of lacrosse equipment, sold the limited-edition products at more than 45 of its U.S. stores and online.

• In another recent Lacrosse collab, rapper Method Man partnered with the Premier Lacrosse League and Champion last October for a collection of logo t-shirts, hoodies, caps, and athletic shorts. The rapper played lacrosse in elementary and junior high school, and the goal of the initiative was to entice more people of color to become fans and players of the game. The design of the merchandise included elements tied to his experience; for example, the hoodie featured the words Hempstead Lacrosse as a nod to his time as a player on the Hempstead Tigers on Long Island. As part of the program, lacrosse gear was donated to 10 lacrosse nonprofits with an eye toward making the sport more accessible.

All of these ventures help sports teams gain the attention of and boost their cool factor among young fans and potential young fans. For the entertainment licensors, this is another way for them to keep their properties in the public eye by having them pop up in unexpected places and to expose them to potential new fans as well.