Tom Brady and Cam Newton are in a Photo Finish for the Top-Selling Jersey as We Kickoff the Season

Fox Business - Two of the NFL’s most recognizable veteran quarterbacks lead the league’s list of top-selling jerseys ahead of kickoff for the 2020 season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady holds the top spot during kickoff week, according to Fanatics, the NFL’s e-commerce partner. Fellow star Cam Newton, who replaced Brady as starting quarterback for the New England Patriots this season, ranks just behind him on the jersey sales list.

As of Thursday afternoon, less than 50 jersey sales separated Brady from Newton. Sales data was tracked from all official platforms, including Fanatics.com and NFLShop.com, from Sunday afternoon through Thursday. 

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle ranks third on the jersey sales list. Kittle, 26, signed a $75 million contract extension with the defending NFC Champions during the offseason. 

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who led the team to victory in the Super Bowl last February, ranks fourth. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson rounds out the top five. 

I wouldn't have expected anything less. Two of the best quarterbacks of their era. Compelling, fascinating, charismatic players. Not only joining new franchises for the first time in their careers, but franchises with new uniform designs. It couldn't be anyone else at the top of this list. Not even tranformative, generational players like Patrick Mahomes coming off a championship or Lamar Jackson coming off an MVP. 

But make no mistake, this is all about the Patriots. Pats fans are driving the engine on the sale of both of these jerseys.

If there's one thing we've learned for sure over the last 20 years or so, it's that New England is the center of the football universe, and it remains such. It's the Black Hole in the middle of the NFL galaxy around which every other celestial body rotates. And its gravitational pull is such that no attention can escape it. 

And it doesn't matter who the quarterback is. The old legend or the new one, Pats fans are going to turn out, with their debit cards firing on all cylinders. I'll personally not be able to buy any Tampa Bay merchandise until Brady is already safely in the Patriots Hall of Fame, out of everyone else's reach. But I know guys who loaded up the minute his photos in the pewter and red first appeared. And this region is about to be lousy with Pats' No. 1 shirts. Absolutely blanketed from one end to the next. You'll be able to body surf from Cape Cod to Lake Champlain on the hands of people in Cam Newton gear without ever touching the ground (once we're allowed to make contact again). 

And here's my proof this is all about Pats fans spending the money. I went to the Pro Shop at Gillette about three weeks ago. By that point, no one was sure who the starting quarterback would be and Newton shirts were getting equal shelf space with Jarrett Stidham No. 4 shirts. Understandably, everyone was hedging their bets before they shelled out $99.99-$149.99 for a guy who'd be holding a Surface tablet all year. 

Brady was named the Bucs starter six months ago. And still just 50 shirts separate them. Because people from Tampa suck. They're transients with no roots who don't care enough and don't deserve the largesse that has been bestowed upon them. They don't appreciate the gift they have been given and should be condemned to an eternity of having Josh Freeman or Josh McCown or some other Josh under center. 

In New England, we're grateful for the QBs we've been given. Newton is going to lap the field in sales by the end of September, you mark my words. That's my Captain. 

Newton doesn't get butterflies. He gives them.