New England Patriots offering guarantee to fans who purchase jerseys

One of the most annoying things in the world for a fan is to spend well over $100 for the replica jersey of their favorite player, only to have him bolt for another team the next season.

The New England Patriots (who are notorious for signing players as mercenaries) feel the pain of the fans and are offering a solution that will be a first in the NFL.

According to ESPN.com, the Patriots will offer a partial refund to anyone who buys a jersey of a player who is no longer under contract to the team within a year of the purchase.

The team sent an email to everyone on their mailing list about the guarantee.

"If fans purchase jerseys from the team website or stadium store and the players whose names are on the back leave the team within a year of purchase, those fans will receive a 25 percent discount toward the price of the next Patriots jersey they buy. Fans, who will have two months from the day a player is no longer under contract to make a new purchase with the discount, do not have to return the original jerseys with the names of former players."

Now that’s customer service, and it would be a good bet that other teams will follow suit, because (as we always say) the NFL is a copycat league.