There’s no playbook for the upcoming merchandising collision among all the big North American professional sports leagues – as well as the college football season.

The NBA, NHL and potentially MLB plan to resume or begin abbreviated schedules in July-August, and the NFL and college football are preparing for fall launches – albeit in unfamiliar circumstances, with either sharply reduced “crowds” or none at all. At the same time, the leagues, licensees and retailers will be trying to figure out how to navigate extremely crowded retail shelves – whether physical or virtual.

Knocked for a loop
The normal seasonal rhythm has been knocked for a loop. When the leagues shut down and physical retail went on hiatus, stores were stocked with NBA and NHL licensed goods, and beginning to gear up for MLB as spring training was in full swing. So the existing inventories of goods for those leagues will have to vie with incoming products related to the fall sports. Markdowns are likely to be widespread. Visit eCommerce licensed sports powerhouse Fanatics’ website, and the first banner you’ll see offers “Up To 65% off Sitewide.”

Aside from their existing inventory, retailers are faced with the ongoing uncertainty about league and collegiate plans.  “Around college football and some of the pro sports, depending on how things play out, we’re not nearly as aggressive” in buying for the fall as in Covid-boosted categories such as running shoes, bikes and fitness equipment Dick’s Sporting Goods CEO Ed Stack said recently to analysts.

Caution
“I think [retailers] are being cautious because they do have inventory and they don’t know exactly when sports seasons are going to happen,” says Collegiate Licensing Company’s Cory Moss, whose agency handles licensing for more than 700 colleges and universities. “Never before have we had all sports collide in the same time period so the demand for shelf space isn’t shifting like it normally does.” This will result in pro and college sports will “battling it out” at brick-and-mortar retail with more tailored assortments and likely relying more heavily on ecommerce, he says. 

Playing plans
Among the leagues’ latest plans:

• NBA will restart its season with 22 teams on July 31 at Disney World Resort with players heading there by July 7 and playoffs starting Aug. 18;
• NHL summer training camps start July 10 and play is expected to resume in two “hub” cities at an undetermined date later the same month;
• MLB and its players union are still trying to set a schedule, with players proposing an 89-game season starting on July 10 and ending Oct. 11;
• NFL training camps are slated to open in mid-July with the season to start on Sept. 10.

There’s no firm reading on college football, a big driver of licensed sales. In some cases, “homegating” – a home-based version of tailgating in a yard, patio or den with a big screen TV – had already been a growing trend in the collegiate space, even before anyone had ever heard of Coronavirus.  Now, with schools prepared to play in front of few or no fans due to social distancing restrictions, it may present a further opportunity. Some schools are working with licensees to develop packages with a tent and chairs to create an instant homegating set-up. CLC also will likely extend its Great Collegiate Tailgating Competition in the fall from the parking lot to the home, says Moss.

“We are trying work out with our licensees how to create a campaign about ‘I am not there [at the stadium] but I am still here’ with graphics on a t-shirt,” say Ohio State’s Rick Van Brimmer, who also is considering sponsored contests promoting homegating. “If the rules remain the same as they are right now, we can’t go back to a full stadium,” says Van Brimmer. “And the other question is do fans still want to go?”

There’s no playbook for that.