New Era Releases NFL Draft Hats, Internet Outrage Ensues

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In the lead up to the NFL draft later this month, apparel giant New Era dropped images of their newest line of custom NFL hats which presumably will be donned by the 2019 draft picks as they hear their name called.

It’s a great way to sell hats, at least in theory.  Ideally, New Era is designing gear that speaks to the history and heritage behind each NFL franchise but also, well, looks cool enough for the 17-40 male demographic to drop thirty-odd dollars on a new lid.

In that case, consider this latest line from New Era a cataclysmic fumble.  For further context, let’s refer to the internet:

Uniformly, these hats are pretty terrible.  I’m all for the concept of paying homage to certain aspects of a team’s culture and heritage, but this is the whole “kitchen sink” angle gone off the rails.

Interestingly enough, the Redskins hat featured in the line up is perhaps the least reprehensible of the whole bunch.  Maybe this one small product launch will turn out to be the catalyst for a drastic turn around in Washington.  One can only hope, I suppose.

If mulligans are available for merchandise companies trying to grow their bottom line, New Era might want to take one and start from scratch.

Sometimes, less is a whole lot more.