Who's No. 1 in football?
When it comes to merchandise sales, who else but Tom Brady?
According to the NFLPA Top 50 Player Sales List, based on total sales of all officially licensed NFL player merchandise from March-November 2018 - the most updated survey available - the quarterback ranks ahead of Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott. Brady leads the Patriots into a Super Bowl for the ninth time on Sunday against the Rams. Super Bowl LIII will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The list includes NFL player-branded merchandise sold from online and traditional retail outlets as reported by more than 70 NFL Players Association licensees. Licensed product categories include men's, women's and youth game jerseys and T-shirts; player murals; collectible figures; matted and framed photos; bobbleheads; drinkware; calendars; puzzles; and holiday ornaments.
The next two players on the list are Giants rookie running back Saquon Barkley and Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, followed by three quarterbacks: the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, the Eagles’ Carson Went, and the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes.
Rounding out the top 10 are Steelers receiver Antonio Brown, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson and Bears edge rusher Khalil Mack, the only defensive player on the list.
Rams’ Zuerlein ready
Greg Zuerlein was last but certainly not least in the Rams’ last full practice before Super Bowl LIII on Friday. The kicker closed practice with seven field goal attempts and four kickoffs as the Rams ended their week at the Falcons’ training facility.
Coach Sean McVay called both Zuerlein’s practice and the team’s on Friday a success.
“We’re going into this game as healthy as you could hope for,” McVay said. “Now, really it’s about just tightening things up, making sure we clean up any of the last little details, a little bit over 48 hours out. But there’s a confidence that I think has been earned. Certainly, we respect the Patriots, but we’re coming here with the expectation of winning a game.”
Zuerlein, who injured his left foot while warming up at halftime of the NFC Championship Game, has returned to full health. He was a full participant Friday and does not have an injury designation.
Milloy offers Patriots final words
The Patriots gathered in the middle of Georgia Tech’s fieldhouse on Friday and Lawyer Milloy, the former Patriots safety who was part of the team’s Super Bowl XXXVI win against the Rams in 2002, broke down the huddle with the team’s “Awww Yeah!” catchphrase.
“He’s one of us,” head coach Bill Belichick said. “He’s here pulling for us. I appreciate that.”
Milloy also played for the Falcons from 2006-08 in addition to the Bills and Seahawks in 15-year NFL career.
Every player was a full participant, including linebacker Dont’a Hightower, who missed Thursday’s practice with an illness, and defensive tackle Malcom Brown, who was limited on Wednesday with a calf injury.
New Orleans still mourns - maybe
From the "Boycott Bowl" to the "Dunk the Referee" tank, people in New Orleans are finding creative ways to spend Sunday doing anything but watching the Super Bowl.
As the rest of the country gathers to watch the Patriots face the Rams in the biggest football game of the year, Saints fans will be mourning a Super Bowl that might have been. An extensive list of bars and restaurants say they won't air the game and a wealth of alternative programming has sprouted up across the city for people to show their Who Dat spirit while boycotting the game.
"So many people wanted this and, more importantly, so many people needed this because we were robbed," said Kim Bergeron, a marketing and public relations specialist who put together one of three parades slated for Sunday.
Saints fans have been angry since the Jan. 20 NFC championship game and what has now become known as the infamous "no-call." A Rams defensive back leveled a Saints receiver with a helmet-to-helmet hit at a crucial point in the final minutes of regulation time. The Rams went on to win the game and will play the Patriots Sunday in Atlanta.
NFL officials acknowledged after the game that flags should have been thrown, but that's done little to soothe the ire in New Orleans and the state. Even Gov. John Bel Edwards suggested on Twitter that he'll be checking out Netflix Sunday instead of the Super Bowl.
But this is a city that once threw a party for a pothole and in recent years has staged parades to remember Fats Domino, David Bowie, Prince and "Star Wars" heroine Carrie Fisher. So the Sunday non-Super Bowl activities are taking on a festive rather than mournful air.
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