With Super Bowl week exposing empty shelves and angry fans, a Democratic Senate candidate is turning a jersey shortage into criticism of corporate power in the NFL.
On Wednesday, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Maine, Graham Platner, took to social media to blast Fanatics and the NFL for their jersey shortage.
“You are a monopoly. You’ve blocked local retailers, jacked up costs, and now you’re sold out of (Patriots) jerseys the week of the Super Bowl,” Platner wrote on X/Twitter. “The NFL enjoys billions of dollars in tax breaks and public financing for stadiums. In return, we get sh–tier, more expensive products.”
Fanatics issued an apology this week after struggling to keep Patriots and Seahawks team-color jerseys in stock ahead of Sunday’s game — and after fans flooded social media with complaints about quality issues on the $160 replicas that were delivered.
“We’ve let Patriots and Seahawks fans down with product availability — we own that and we are sorry,” the company said in a statement posted to X.
According to Fanatics, the problem stems from “unprecedented” demand.
Both teams missed the playoffs last season, then rocketed all the way to the Super Bowl, triggering a nearly 400% surge in jersey sales since Thanksgiving compared to last year.
Fanatics said it ordered more jerseys for both teams than ever before, but still couldn’t keep up.
Platner is an American military veteran and oyster farmer currently running as a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Maine for the 2026 election.
He’s a self-described “New Deal Democrat” and economic populist and aims to unseat incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins.
