NEWSLETTER
Despite being an afterthought in the playoff picture for the last three seasons, people haven’t forgotten about the Chicago Bulls.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the franchise has still been at the top of the Merchandise leader boards, and from July 30th to September 28th, Chicago has sold the 3rd-most team merchandise in the NBA.
NBA merchandise sales from July 30 – September 28. A reminder that the league really missed Steph, KD and Kyrie this season and noteworthy to see Ja in the top 15 and no Zion. pic.twitter.com/KByEx02Egw
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) September 30, 2020
The Bulls find themselves behind two fellow historic franchises, with the Los Angeles Lakers in first and the Boston Celtics in second. Interestingly enough, if we look at the top-10, the Bulls are only one of two teams not in the Orlando Bubble to crack the list, the other being the Golden State Warriors. With no current superstar and a recent stretch of rough basketball, this only goes to show how much weight the Chicago Bulls name still holds in the NBA community. I have to imagine the success of The Last Dance has helped give the organization a small boost when it comes to their league-wide perception. Not to mention, an entire front office restructuring has probably given many folks a bit more optimism in the future of the franchise.
With that said, the Bulls have actually done pretty well over the years in merchandise sales, even with their playing woes. From the beginning of the 2019-20 season to April, the Bulls were 6th in sales. In the season prior, the Bulls were 9th in sales. New General Manager Marc Eversley said one of his goals was to make this franchise “cool again” upon his arrival, but seeing as the Bulls brand is still very much in the fan conversation, that may not be as hard as initially thought. Win some games, and this team can easily be the talk of the league.
