Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker ranked 11th on the NFL's top merchandise sellers list, beating out teammate and pop culture crossover Travis Kelce.
Kelsey has appeared in commercials for controversial brands such as Bud Light and Pfizer (promoting vaccines), and is also famous for being in a relationship with pop singer Taylor Swift.
Meanwhile, Butker has attracted attention for promoting Christianity while opposing woke and diversity-centered ideology.
Butker signed a four-year, $25.6 million contract extension this summer, making him the highest-paid kicker in NFL history, which will see him earn an average annual salary of $6.4 million through the 2028 season.
The NFL Players Association recently released its top 50. Sales Listtracks sales of officially licensed NFL player merchandise online and at brick-and-mortar retailers, including jerseys, t-shirts, hoodies, bobbleheads and more.
Butker finished in 11th place, just ahead of Kelce in 12th place.
Not only is this the first time Butker has appeared on the list, he also becomes just the second kicker in history to have enough merchandise sold to crack the top 50. The first was Evan McPherson, who appeared on the list in 2022.
“I just wanted to show love and show people what I believe in. I'll be praying for everybody.”
Butker's teammate, Patrick Mahomes II, was No. 2 on the merchandise list, while the somewhat surprising No. 1 pick was CJ Stroud.
The Houston Texans quarterback has openly proclaimed and promoted his faith throughout his rookie season, and Stroud's refreshingly open outlook on religion has had fans flocking to him to hear him speak.
However, controversy ensued when NBC edited an interview with Stroud in January 2024 to remove references to Jesus.
“First of all, I want to give glory and praise to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Stroud said at the beginning of the interview, before adding at the end, “Thank you and God bless you.”
However, after the interview was posted on social media, both sections were removed in apparent edits, with the camera angle switched to a close-up and the cry to Jesus omitted.
Stroud ended up speaking to Fox News about the incident a few weeks later, after the team was eliminated from the playoffs.
“I just wanted to show love and show people what I believe in. I'm praying for everybody. I don't have any particular feelings. I'm just praying for everybody,” the quarterback said.
“It's great to see people using their platform to point to their purpose and their Lord. I think there's a really great community of believers within the league and across the sports world.”
Stroud and Butker have called for athletes to speak more openly about their Christian faith in recent years, and fans have responded by supporting them on and off the field.
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