Steelers’ James Conner now has the best-selling jersey in the NFL
By Jack Crosby
James Conner was inching close to the top spot in NFL jersey sales and now he holds firm to that top spot.
It was one of the better stories of the 2017 NFL Draft, when the Pittsburgh Steelers made the call to Pitt Panthers running back James Conner to inform him that he was staying put in the city, as they were drafting him to play in their backfield. After all the young man had been through, it was the feel-good moment of the weekend and everyone knew Conner was going to be a popular story to watch this summer as the football season approaches.
Just how popular, however, I don’t think a lot of people anticipated. Since they went on sale, Conner’s new Steelers jersey has been a hot seller, but on Monday it went to new levels. For the time being, Conner now has the hottest-selling jersey in the entire league, toppling five-time Super Bowl Champion quarterback Tom Brady.
Conner made a national name for himself during his sophomore season on the Pitt team in 2014 when he rushed for 1,765 yards and 26 touchdowns, earning himself ACC Player of the Year honors in the process. He was set for what many thought might be a Heisman run in 2015, but life would have other plans for the young man.
In the opening game against Youngstown State of that season, Conner would suffer an MCL injury, already putting himself on the shelf for the season. Then, unfortunately, he would be diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, putting his life in jeopardy, not just his football career.
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But Conner went through the rounds of chemo necessary before he was cancer-free, all the while continuing to work with his Pitt team like the beast of a human being that he is. Miraculously, he returned to the field in 2016, rushing for 1,092 yards and 16 touchdowns. It was one of the greatest comebacks that we’ve seen in sports history and just showcased how tough Conner is.
We’ll soon find out whether or not he’s ready to beast his way through the NFL like he was college football, but we know for now that he’s beasting his way through NFL jersey sales.