This note is written by Scott Sillcox in fall 2023 in response to a lot of readers asking me two questions:
A. You wrote and posted many of your blog postings several years ago, is the info still relevant today? Short answer - absolutely! The basics of sports licensing change very little over the years, so I strongly suggest that if you are trying to learn about sports licensing, read away! I have also tried to update certain areas where there have been significant changes, so I feel comfortable in telling you that this information is still highly relevant.
B. You mention that you are a consultant and might be able to help me, do you still do consulting? Short answer - absolutely. I work in the licensing field virtually every day of my life, so if you have questions or would like my help, contact me! The two primary ways I work are hourly telephone consulting ($175US/hour) and face-to-face meetings where I come right to your office for a full day ($1500US/day + $650 travel expenses).
Many thanks and happy reading -
Scott Sillcox
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The good news is that you've found just such a list! In early 2012 we launched a brand new, searchable Online Directory of 2500+ North American Licensed Sports Products Companies - it’s called LicensedSports.net and it can be found at that same address and costs just $59 to use for three months. This is a highly searchable directory of licensed sports products companies in North America, companies that have been licensed by various sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAA, MLS, Nascar, NFLPA, MLBPA, NHLPA and others). There is nothing on the internet that comes close to this resource. So please take advantage of this resource and "Search Away". If you're not sure if this database would be worth the investment, check out this 3 minute video that gives you a sense of what to expect.
One quick point about the NFLPA. They do actually have a list of NFLPA licensees -
Apparel Licensees are listed here
Multimedia Licensees are listed here
Non-apparel Licensees are listed here
- it's just not overly user-friendly, but at least they have a list and that's a lot more than can be said for the NFL itself which doesn't provide a list of any type of their licensees. So hats off to the NFLPA for this effort!
Now let me point out two especially useful features of our Online Directory:
1. The dynamic view of each company’s website – when you look at a company’s record, there is a live screen with their website right there on your screen.
2. We have tried our best to show one or more key contacts at each company, and wherever possible we have included email addresses, phone #’s, fax #’s and even Linkedin url’s.
This is intended to be a reasonably comprehensive and up-to-date listing of licensed sports products companies, but please understand no list is completely comprehensive or entirely accurate – we strive to do our best and over time this list will become even better. And remember, because this is a live, online directory, it will be constantly changing. I will be adding licensees as I learn about them, and deleting those who exit the licensed sports products business as well. If you have any comments or suggestions (and especially additions!), please email me at: ssillcox@rogers.com
Allow me to take a moment and explain NFL vs NFLPA licensing in case you are uncertain - you can read more about this in Part 7 of my 12 Part Blog on Sports Licensing.
- If a product requires the names, uniform numbers, images or likenesses of 3 or more current players, a player’s association (in this case the NFLPA) needs to become involved in addition to the league. This involves obtaining a joint NFL – NFLPA license.
- The NFLPA represents all current players.
- The NFLPA isn’t going to require that a licensee produce products for all 1800-ish current NFL players, but they may make some demands as to who the licensee can use and how many players they must use (emphasis on the word “must”).
- If an NFL license requires a royalty payment of 12% (see Part 8 for more on royalty amounts), a joint NFL - NFLPA license will carry a royalty payment in the order of 18%.
- If you are interested in a NFLPA license, I suggest you to contact the NFLPA and speak to their licensing team with any/all questions you may have. The NFLPA licensing team will be better able than the NFL Properties team to answer licensing questions about working with current NFL players.
Now back to the blog at hand...
While I encourage you to visit the actual website/online directory to get up-to-date (and far more detailed) information, here is at least a snapshot of NFLPA licensees in the online database as of March 2012.
List of NFLPA Licensees - List of National Football League Players'Association Licensees
Company Name
1 Accolade Group / Accolade USA / Levelwear
2 Bleacher Creatures
3 Boelter Brands
4 The Bradford Exchange Ltd.
5 Coveroo
6 The Danbury Mint / MBI Inc.
7 EA Sports - Electronic Arts
8 EA Sports Canada - Electronic Arts
9 FatHead- LLC
10 Forever Collectibles aka Team Beans
11 GameWear International / Wear The Game
12 The Highland Mint / Bullion International
13 Jarden Sports Licensing- LP
14 Majestic Athletic / Majestic Industries / VF and VFC
15 McFarlane Toys / TMP International
16 Muze Clothing
17 MVP Collection
18 Name In The Frame / That's Me Sports / MVP Pics
19 The Northwest Company LLC
20 Official Signature Products
21 Panini Group / Panini America
22 Perfect Timing- Inc.
23 Photo File Inc.
24 Playmark
25 Pro Specialties Group
26 Pro Towel Sports- Inc.
27 Reebok - Mitchell and Ness Nostalgia Company
28 Reebok - Outerstuff- a division of adidas
29 Replay Photos LLC
30 Ripon Athletic
31 Silver Crystal Sports
32 Skinit Inc.
33 Stahl's Inc.
34 Team Fan Shop
35 The Topps Co. Inc.
36 Trends International USA
37 Wincraft Inc.
I have also attached a jpg of this same list showing the City, State/Province and Country of each of these NFLPA licensees. But once again, remember that if you go online to the searchable directory, you will get complete information including address and website, as well as contact information including phone, fax, email and in some cases Linkedin info.
At some point you might ask yourself, why would Scott Sillcox spend so much time and effort to create this Online Directory of 2500+ licensed sports product companies in North America?
The answer is simple. I have a fair amount of knowledge about the licensed sports products business, knowledge that seems to be in scarce supply, especially on the internet. After spending 15+ years in the licensed sports products business, I accumulated a wealth of knowledge that I am happy to share. This blog and the Online Directory are designed to share that information and are my way of giving back and helping people interested in the world of licensed sports products.
This blog and Online Directory are also my way of letting people know that I am a licensed sports products consultant. I am available to consult with existing and potential licensees and my goal is simple, to help you make money by being a better licensee and/or save money by avoiding licensing pitfalls. If you would like to learn more, please contact me: ssillcox@rogers.com or by cell 416-315-4736. I am here to help and I am a good listener! And if you are someone interested in becoming a sports product licensee and haven't yet read my 12 Part Blog called "An Insider’s Guide to the World of Licensed Sports Products in 12 Parts: Practical Lessons from the Trenches", I encourage you to read it - you can find it in the blog listing to the right of this posting. The introductory blog can be found here.
But most importantly, check out the brand new, searchable Online Directory of North American Licensed Sports Products Companies at LicensedSports.net - it costs just $59 to use for three months. And I update the database weekly, sometimes daily.
Thanks and Search Away!
Scott
