Cutler Has Second Best Selling Jersey in the NFL

Surely these were purchased before he bombed at Green Bay.

Jay Cutler had the No. 2 hottest selling jersey in the NFL, according to data provided by NFLshop.com. Cutler knocks Brian Urlacher off of his nearly decade-long post as the team’s hottest seller.

Cutler’s jersey sales were second only to Brett Favre’s new purple ensemgle during a period between April 1 and Aug. 28, raw sales data, however, is not released by the leage.

Troy Polamalu, Ben Roethlisberger of the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers and newly instated Eagles quarterback Michael Vick fill out the top-5.

Favre, Cutler and Vick have been popular buys because of the novelty, but they each come with some controversy.

Vick was jailed and suspended by the league for his role in a dogfighting ring before recently signing with Philadelphia. On a smaller scale of negative public relations, Cutler unhappily forced his way out of Denver and was traded to Chicago. And Favre has frustrated fans — not to mention alienated many loyalist supporters of his old team in Green Bay — with his indecision.

The polarization factor, said sports marketer Matt Delzell, has actually been a boon for Favre.

"Now that he's got some 'haters' the people who do like him are especially more likely to go out and buy his jerseys," Delzell said in an interview from his Dallas-area office. He works for entertainment marketing agency Davie Brown.

Favre will likely always be a major generator of buzz.

"That's why you have celebrities with 2 million followers on Twitter," Delzell said. "There is an increasing obsession about the celebrity world, with sports figures and with anything new and fresh. It just continues to grow."

Stephen Ross, a sport management professor at the University of Minnesota, echoed that theory.

"Now that he's got some 'haters' the people who do like him are especially more likely to go out and buy his jerseys," Delzell said in an interview from his Dallas-area office. He works for entertainment marketing agency Davie Brown.