If you’ve ordered a sports jersey from an official source recently, you’ve probably noticed that they aren’t very… good.
This is a problem that’s affected both the pros and the fans. In 2024, MLB players complained that their state-of-the-art sweat-proof jerseys seemed to be actually holding sweat while looking, well, cheap and bad. There was also a problem in which you could see right through them—hope you wore some fun underwear!
It would be one thing if these jerseys were cheap. However, fans regularly find themselves paying hundreds of dollars for one of these jerseys, only to quickly realize they should have just bought a knockoff.
Now, a user on TikTok is calling out the cheap jersey problem—and he’s accrued over 1.6 million views in the process.
What’s Wrong With These Jerseys?
In his video, TikTok user Alex Del Barrio (@thealexdelbarrio) shows himself walking through Academy.
“So, I’ve got a question. When did we get to the point where the quality of bootleg merchandise has exceeded the quality of authentic, licensed merchandise?” he asks.
To prove his point, he shows an official jersey.
“This is supposed to be like the replica jersey, and it’s like, it’s not even two-tone tackle twill. It’s just literally a sublimated letter that’s heat pressed onto the jersey,” he says, looking at the jersey’s printing.
He then turns his attention to the patches.
“They’re not even real patches anymore. It’s just one silk screened patch that’s on the jersey now,” he states.
There’s A Better Option
In contrast, he says the knockoff jerseys one can buy from Temu or the TikTok Shop have “fantastic” quality standards—at least, compared to the official products.
“Baseball jerseys used to be up to par with hockey jerseys. Like, even the replicas felt like authentic jerseys,” he shares. “Now, even the replica jerseys feel like low-end replica Walmart jerseys from back in the day. Not to mention, they cost twice as much for a less quality product, when you can go buy, basically, a fake knockoff product that is much higher quality for a much lower price point.”
“So, all this licensed material that’s available on the jersey front, it needs to take a step up, because it’s bad right now,” he continues.
In an email, Barrio told BroBible that he thinks this is a problem across multiple sports.
“They all come from the same place. I think, for the most part, quality has gone down for some time. Even Majestic at the end wasn’t what it used to be, but the quality of everything, including NFL and MLB jerseys, have been subpar ever since Nike and Fanatics took over apparel and fan apparel a few years ago,” he wrote. “The retailers can only sell what’s produced. So I can’t blame Dick’s or Academy or any fan store. The quality is just bad. Even brands like ’47 Brand and New Era have gone down a bit in quality, and their prices are astronomical.”
He then offered his thoughts about what he’d like to see changed.
“Bring back high quality replicas if you’re gonna charge that much for them. At least use real stitched patches and word marks,” he shared. “Heat press is fine, but at least single stitch the name and numbers like they used to, and I think they’re going to do for NFL now.”
To conclude, he offered his advice to the major sports leagues and jersey producers.
“I think they should start listening to the fans who would like a higher quality product like they used to make,” he explained. “Nike used to be the gold standard for quality in sports apparel, and now I would argue they’re near the bottom. There are minor league teams in hockey and baseball that have better quality team merch. Fanatics has a lot of work to do, and I don’t know where to start. I just hope they realize that just because they have control over the fan apparel market doesn’t give them the right to kill the quality.”
Is This True?
Fans have long complained about the quality of official merchandise, with many noting, like Barrio, that knockoff merchandise often surpasses official in terms of quality and craftsmanship.
As noted in a 2025 Philadelphia Inquirer piece, many people buying knockoff merchandise do not necessarily do so for the price difference—though that does play a role. Instead, customers find themselves going to these products due to their perceived higher quality than the current offerings from mainstream labels like Fanatics.
Users on Reddit come to a similar conclusion. Some will say that the knockoff merchandise is outright better, while others will say there’s a trade-off. For example, one user on Reddit said that, while the MLB Shop jersey felt overpriced for the quality, it was easier to wear than the bootleg he purchased.
In a video on YouTube, sports journalist Joon Lee took an authentic jersey and a high-quality knockoff to a seller specializing in old baseball jerseys. While the seller said that he did not condone the creation of these fake jerseys, he noted that there were several ways in which the knockoff jersey was of higher quality than the official, more expensive alternative.
Fans Are Fed Up
In the comments section, users shared in Barrio’s frustration about the current state of sports merchandise.
“Charge more. Give less. New business model since 2020 for companies,” declared a user.
“Every manufacturer is cutting quality standards and raising their prices from apparel, food, automotive,” echoed another. “everything now is sub-par and twice the price.”
“Yep. The ones they sell heat pressed used to be like 30-45 bucks and the authentic stitched ones was 110. Now it’s 150 for heat pressed and 400 for stitched,” offered a third.
@thealexdelbarrio Fanatics and Nike have absolutely ruined licensed apparel the quality is now garbage, it’s so weird that the quality of bootleg jerseys now far exceeds the quality of licensed team gear. #mlb #proteam #fanatics #teamgear #nfl