Want to buy a Chris Paul jersey but reluctant because he might be with another team this summer? Go ahead and pull the trigger. You’re covered.
Players like DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas will soon draw attention as two of the bigger names on the 2018 NBA free agent market, unless some team inks them to extensions before the current season ends of course. Because of that pending free agency, or the possibility of them being traded yet this season, fans can be reluctant to spend the potential hundreds of dollars on an NBA jersey. American Express and Fanatics have a solution to that problem.
This solution is the American Express Jersey Assurance. In short, it’s a sponsored modification of what was the Fanatics Jersey Assurance program. Any qualifying players’ jersey purchased on Fanatics.com or NBAStore.com can be exchanged if the player changes teams via free agency or trade.
Prior to American Express’ involvement, any qualifying jersey could be exchanged within 90 days of the purchase date regardless of what payment method was used. That’s still true, but there is now an added benefit for American Express card holders. Those customers who use their American Express card to buy their jersey of choice have up to a full calendar year from the date of purchase to make the exchange.
The program covers fans regardless of their allegiances. For instance, if Chris Paul were to finally end up with the Los Angeles Lakers years after he was unofficially traded there, fans who bought Paul’s Houston Rockets jerseys with their American Express card less than a year prior could swap that jersey for a Paul Lakers jersey.
In another hypothetical, suppose that Cousins leaves New Orleans in free agency over the summer. Devoted Pelicans fans who buy his jersey with an American Express card now would have a full year to decide which other player on New Orleans’ roster they would like to trade that jersey in for.
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NBA fans take their swag just as seriously as players in the league take their pre- and post-game fashion. Jerseys are an investment in that swagger and now that investment comes with some great insurance.