Q: How do they get those jerseys made up so fast during the NFL Draft? Nobody knows who’s going to be picked before the draft.
—Eddie Webster, Douglasville
A: The NFL and staff from Stahls', a company that describes itself as the "leader" in "heat applied materials for the sporting goods industry," begin to prepare names of the top prospects up to six weeks in advance of the NFL Draft.
There are jerseys from each NFL team at the draft, in case a franchise has multiple first-round selections. Stahls’ organizes the names — prepared in the correct font for each of the 32 teams — and has them ready to use if, and when, a player is drafted in the first round.
When a pick is made, the NFL tells the Stahls’ representatives, who then have about 2 minutes to affix the correct name to the back of that team’s jersey, the New York Times reported in 2014.
There is a delay from when the pick is made to when it’s announced to the public, which helps Stahls’ finish the jersey before the player arrives on stage.
The three Stahls’ employees at last week’s draft worked in a room backstage at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre, where the draft was held, the Chicago Tribune reported.
“This year went really great,” Stahls’ account executive Brent Kisha told the paper. “You’re always nervous though, you know? You’ve still got butterflies. And (you’re) happy when it’s done.”
Nike and the NFL decided to add the players’ names to the jerseys in 2012 to create a “much more special moment” for them, the NFL’s Leo Kane told the Times.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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