Confessions of a Super Bowl bootlegger: It’s hard hawking NFL merch in NOLA
A guy I’ll call Steve got into town three days ago. A few days later, his inventory arrived in a box in the mail: 144 Kansas City Chiefs T-shirts of various sizes, the design cobbled together from existing images and fonts found on the internet.
Printed on the shirts are at least two trademarked phrases: “Kansas City Chiefs” and “3-Peat.”
“I suppose you could put ‘Kansas City Football’ on the shirt instead,” Steve said, standing on a sidewalk about a half-mile from the New Orleans Convention Center. “But that’s lame. So I went with ‘Chiefs.’ But that means there’s a greater risk in them getting confiscated.”
At other New Orleans events where Steve has previously sold bootleg merchandise — French Quarter Fest, Jazz Fest — he’s moved about freely and generally without hassle from authorities. “Nobody says a word.”
That isn’t the case this week in New Orleans. Bootleg Super Bowl merch is notably absent on the streets, owing to security clampdowns related to the New Year’s Day attack on Bourbon Street and, Steve said, the league’s aggressive approach to trademark enforcement.
“The NFL is very protective of their stuff,” he said. “They don’t want to let a penny slip away that’s not theirs. So, that’s why you’re not seeing any vendors around.”
That means Steve is steering clear of the French Quarter and other big-ticket events where he might be ensnared by the long arm of the law. That’s also why he requested to go by an alias in this story.
He lugs his inventory around in a black suitcase and advertises the shirt by wearing it, like a walking mannequin. When Chiefs fans compliment the shirt, he lets them know that he has more where that came from.
Price?
“$30, maybe $25,” he said. “I stopped by one of the official Super Bowl shops in the Hotel Monteleone, and they’re selling this stuff for $45, 60, and it’s the same quality as what I have.”
He was headed up to the riverfront, close to the French Quarter but far enough away that he thought he could make some sales. He had purchased a lanyard from one of those sanctioned Super Bowl shops that he thought might make him look more credentialed.
“I’m not a sports fan, I don’t care who wins,” Steve said. “Usually, I’d have printed up 30 dozen shirts for both teams, plus commemorative New Orleans shirts. But for whatever reason it was easier for my supplier to get me these Chiefs shirts.”
But, he added, “I am rooting for the Chiefs, because if they win Sunday, I’ll be headed up to Kansas City. So maybe you’ll see me selling at that parade.”
This story was originally published February 7, 2025 at 5:47 PM.
