Giants Carl Banks Talks Fashion, Football Endeavors Past and Present

New York Giants legend Carl Banks is still racking up big numbers thanks to his ongoing success in the football fashion industry, extending a legacy that was already well-established on the field of the NFL.

Carl Banks’ defensive outputs had a certain style to it, posting dominant performances during a 12-year NFL career primarily spent with the New York Giants.

With his playing days behind him, he’s able to approach gameday fashion in a more literal sense.

In addition to his duties as an analyst on the Giants’ radio broadcasts, Banks has dominated the gridiron runway through his modern endeavors with the G-III Apparel Group, which houses the famed Starter brand. 

Renowned in the 1990s for its line of licensed sports jackets, the brand has enjoyed a bit of a revival under Banks’ leadership and representation, particularly as teams across the NFL begin to break out throwback looks in the days of relaxed helmet restrictions.

The Giants are no exception, bringing back branded Starter jackets upon the reintroduction of their retro look popularized during their championship runs in 1986 and 1990.

With Banks continuing to tackle challenges off the field, SI.com/Giants spoke with the renowned linebacker and discussed his many talents through lenses from the past, present, and future …

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Q: What made your post-football pursuits in G-III and beyond worth pursuing?

CB: I got the bug as a player, being able to represent a brand like Starter when they first came into the licensing business, finding the emotional connection between fans and their ability to represent their teams. Prior to Starter, fandom was not a wearable experience, especially in a fashionable way. So, when I first got that bug, I was like, ‘Now I’ve got to look for opportunities for me to be a part of this.’

In my second year with the Giants, I spent time developing a leather coat collection because I noticed there was no there were no leather coats in team sports. So I spent about a year and a half developing it, and then I went to the NFL to see if I could get a license to produce leather coats and team merch for all of the teams. 

They were very supportive, but they only gave me what I call a license to fail: they gave me a license for a big-and-tall, suede-only jacket. But it was all good. It became big-and-tall suede and leather jackets. 

My bigger goal was to be a brand. The one I was wearing, Starter, I wanted to have that presence in sports apparel. I went to the NBA next, and they also gave me big-and-tall apparel. So now I'm piecing together a company. I got the same thing with Major League Baseball, but my ultimate goal was to really get it going across all leagues equally.

So I went back to the NFL because I was doing a pretty decent job with the product. I had very big support from folks at Foot Locker and from Frank Bruno at the NFL. He said, ‘We'd love to see your business grow, but we're in the business of making money. You're going to have to figure out how to scale your business.’ Then I had the same conversation with Frank Mina, and he told me, 'We could do more if we could sell more sizes.'

The only way I could scale my business is to find a better partner or a specialist, I should say. So I partnered with G-III Apparel in 1989, and we haven't looked back. At that time, G-III Apparel was--and still is to this day--one of the top outerwear manufacturers in the world. So the infrastructure was there. The only requirement in that partnership is that I continued to be there to work the brand and build it. They would support the back end of it, and we would grow into it.

Today, with my partners at G-III Apparel, we are the top outerwear manufacturer in all sports. We're probably a top three in women's apparel. As fate would have it, I was one of their first spokespeople, and now that brand is in my portfolio.

The beautiful part about it is that Starter is a legacy brand. There are what I like to call Starter stories--there's always a story around the starter brand, whether it's culture or fan culture. They both intersect anyway, but Starter was the brand that did that, they started doing that before Nike existed at that level. Starter is the only apparel brand that has an interesting cross-section of pop culture and sports that resonates.

Building the business and being part of the G-III family has enabled me to really expand into areas that, if I could think of it, we built it. The only challenge is that licenses have expiration dates, and you have to renegotiate, and we've enjoyed a long relationship with leagues. We're currently extending our relationship to a longer-term relationship.

It’s been great just to be a part of professional sports and to really be able to connect with fans as a player who doesn't play anymore. I don't make tackles or sacks or interceptions, but I can still see the appreciation for what I do. Every Sunday that I walk into a stadium or every time I pick up a magazine and I see a celebrity wearing one of my leather jackets or a Starter coat, it's great.

Being able to build a business while I was still playing really helped as well because people always wonder what players will do when they finish playing. My advice to them is don't wait till you're finished; start now.

Q: To that end, many players fall into financial ruin even before they retire. How did you avoid these dangers, and how important is it for these modern stars to gain a sense of financial literacy early in their career?

CB: The reality is that most players are first-time or first-generation millionaires. We do have some exceptions now because we have players coming from player families, but, for the most part, a lot of these kids are first-generation millionaires, myself included.

I tell these young players that there's no stupid question, and I definitely have not found a stupid question. I asked a ton when I was young. What you realize early on is that professional sports leagues, the NFL in particular, have the largest Rolodexes in the world. There's not one sector of business that doesn't intersect with sports. So if you have an interest in something, you ask a question. You can get a phone call or a meeting or get that question answered so that you can take your curiosity to the next level.

For me, I built a leather collection because I thought I could. I just asked questions, and I was able to build my collection on 38th Street in a sample house, perfect it, and then present it. Then the next question became, 'Now that I have to scale my business, who's the next guy?' I was raised in the fashion industry, but I had to ask around.

I was a season ticket holder for the Knicks. The guy sitting next to me for years sold tags and labels to everybody in the fashion industry. His name is Michael Cohen, and he eventually became my partner. I told him what I was doing, and we just enjoyed sports together. He knew what I was doing, and I told him that I had to grow my business and asked if he could set up some meetings for me. 

He told me, ‘I sell labels to everybody in the fashion industry, I know who's who.’ He introduced me to a few people. Then he said, ‘Let me just introduce you to the folks that made G-III. They may not be interested in sports, but you know, you should take the meeting because they're the top in the business, their best label makers in the business.’

So I had four meetings with the CEO, Morris Goldfarb of G-III. He legitimately had no interest in sports (laughs). I had to convince him that I was serious about the business. He didn't want to be in business with an athlete because he was continuing his family's legacy, and he didn't want that tarnished by some knucklehead. 

I told him, ‘Look, I’ve got my own business now. I'm looking to expand it. I haven't tarnished my own business with reckless behavior. So I will make sure that I take care of this partnership like I'm taking care of business right now because I want to leave a legacy as well.’

We shook hands, and we built a phenomenal infrastructure that, to this day, we just continue to expand and grow.

Dec 12, 2021; Inglewood, California, USA; Carl Banks attends the NFL game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the New York Giants at SoFi Stadium / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Q: As a businessman, how do you think that the NFL turned itself from a 17-20 week affair in the fall and winter into a 24/7/365 behemoth?

CB: I think it's about the fandom, keeping the fan engaged. You've seen that over the years with the way they promoted Monday Night Football, and then they added Thursday Night games. They just gauge fan engagement, and then they meet fans where they are, wherever their interests are. We try to be a part of that. Again, they have the largest Rolodex in the world.

Whatever it is, if fans drink it, wear it, fly it, now they bet on it, they are part of it, and that's how the NFL continues to grow. I applaud Roger Goodell and his group. Roger just didn't fall into that job as commissioner and then learn how to grow the pie for the NFL. He worked in finance at the NFL, so he knew the track that the teams the league had to be on. 

When he became commissioner, he understood the apparatus of how to grow the brand because he was there in finance, and they had visionaries there like Frank Bruno, John Flood, and John Bello, who were really at the forefront of growth. They, along with Leo Kane and Jeff Sofka, go into the NFL offices on Park Avenue in the 80s and 90s--those guys were they were think tanks. They were trying to figure out how to get in business with Pepsi, how to get in business with Coca-Cola. Then they had a partner like David Beckerman from Starter who said, ‘Look, let me reimagine your sideline. Let me build products that fans would be happy to wear.’ That is how we got to where we are today.

Then they asked how trading cards can become an industry and not just collectibles for nerds. They grew that and then the video game thing came and so it just kept going on and on and on and that’s how the NFL is what it is. They've always done a good job of least projecting the image of protecting the shield and they will relentlessly and vigorously defend that. 

They don't want that to tarnish that because there are 32 owners. To date, I don't think that there's a single team that has lost money. They might be the biggest, the most profitable model for corporate America. If every company can operate like the NFL, where 32 independent contractors are getting checks from licensing, royalties, and rights, having brands that are so appealing, it's something to marvel at.

Some of it’s not even transactional; there’s the fact that they have an NFL Network, they have the Combine, and we have the draft, and oh, by the way, that holiday called the Super Bowl. It doesn't cost you anything other than your cable bill to watch all of this stuff, and they make it compelling. They do that in a way where you don't even see the players as much during the season. In the offseason, they say, ‘Okay, let's let people see some of the guys from behind the helmets’ through the combines.

Elsewhere, you have fantasy football, which segments the sport even more to give the league even more opportunities for growth. Some fans were not hardcore fans, but they liked the players that they liked. Now they can watch and track the players that they liked more so than the team.

But with all that said, all the dots connect because, for me, the more the league works to increase its fan base and the different interests of that fan base, it gives me opportunities to build products around the world to appeal to that customer.

Being proactive and opportunistic is one of the biggest advantages of being partners with professional sports leagues because they do much of the work for you. You just have to be proactive and opportunistic. And keep your finger on the pulse of fandom.

Q: Only increasing the game’s visibility is the so-called social media era. How do you think you and your Giants teammates would have adapted to an era such as this?

CB: There are two phases in which I view the social media era: first is the interaction with fans, and then there’s the whole access part of it.

I think we would have been okay. This is the animal that the NFL created, along with all other professional sports. They wanted to find different avenues to give the fans access. When social media comes around, you get to hear the voices in real-time. That's the interaction that the leagues are benefiting from.

It's also a double-edged sword because the fans get a chance to be a little rowdy with players that they don't like. But if you subtract fantasy football from the ecosystem, the interactions on social media in sports would be a lot milder.

Being in New York, we hung out a lot. We did a lot of things where, if it leaked out, the social consciousness of fans would be going crazy (laughs), like staying out all night on a Friday at Nell’s. Nell’s opened at midnight and closes at six in the morning. We’d start on Friday night, probably somewhere in East Orange, New Jersey at one of the dance clubs, make our way into Manhattan to the Palladium or Studio 54 and end it at Nell’s. 

Then we’d go to Giants Stadium and sleep in the parking lot so you wouldn’t be late for a meeting. If something like that leaked out back then, people would go crazy! We were a championship team, so we took our craft seriously. But, you know, Friday nights in New York, we had a good time.

Bill Parcells really hated people being late for the plane, and he laid down a hammer. Everybody would pack their bags as soon as they got home for practice. If we had a road trip, you’d pack your bag for the trip, put it in the trunk of your car. Wherever you are, you can just go straight to the stadium and not have to worry about going home, falling asleep, and then trying to rush back. If you're out past midnight, don't worry about going home, just sleep in the parking lot and have a ball boy knock on your window so you're not late for a meeting.

Giants head coach Bill Parcells gets doused with Gatorade with linebackers Lawrence Taylor, left, and Carl Banks, right, after the 20-19 win over the Bills in Superbowl XXV in Tampa, Fla. on Jan. 27, 1991 / Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY, USA TODAY via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Q: The modern NFL is one that has a soft spot for the offense, perhaps fueled by its worship of fantasy football. How do you think your Giants defenses would’ve handled today’s game?

CB: I think a lot of the rules that are in place now are probably a result of how we played the game. I think good players and good coaches can adjust. I just think right now, the reason we're seeing such success on offense is that they've got more creative geniuses on that side of the football.

I'm not saying any of the defensive coordinators are dumb. I don't think they've imagined the league like the offense because defenses are reactive by nature. We could use a Rex Ryan or a Buddy Ryan, his great father, or Rob, his brother, back in the league because the offense is dictating the terms. Defenses have to defend all 11 players, they've used every inch of the football field both vertically and laterally. Some defenses haven't quite figured it out.

But humans still play the game. You can still have a really good defense but gone are the days when you got to say, ‘Well, we're going to hold the team to under 300 yards.’ Sometimes you’ve got to give up enough and be good in one area of the football field, just depending on what the construct of your personnel is. 

For example, the downside to having a wide-open offense and the fact that they can use all of the field is that when the field shrinks, they have fewer options. So you'll see a team focus more on being better in the red zone instead of in the field because they don't have the personnel to match up.

Q: How do the modern Giants teams emulate your championship groups from 1986 and 1990, and what do they lack?

CB: Well, I can tell you point blank, they lack talent. They're getting better at that now. For years I don't think they had the right coaching chemistry, and now they do. I think they have a very good coaching staff, very smart management making good decisions. Now they just need to pick up great talent.

I think the mentality is there. I think last season should be the beginning of their road to success. I had something similar to that in my rookie year with the Giants, where they had just come off a 3-12-1 season, and then we went to the playoffs for nine or 10 straight years and won two Super Bowls.

I think that's the type of infrastructure that they have in place now with (general manager) Joe Schoen and (head coach) Brian Daboll. Owners of teams can get frustrated, but you don't have answers because you don't coach. You're part of the process, and you hope it turns out, but I think (the Giants’ ownership) sees that the biggest difference is in the coaches that they've had before and how the players have responded to those coaches.

Sep 20, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Former New York Giants linebacker Carl Banks speaks on stage during half time ceremony honoring the 25th anniversary of their championship at MetLife Stadium / Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you can give off that group now as they follow in your footsteps?

CB: I would just say to stay focused on the goal. Don't lose the feeling of winning a playoff game, but also don't lose the feeling of losing a playoff game.

The journey to get there was one hell of an accomplishment considering all the things they had to overcome. Winning a game is impressive, rising against a team that goes to the playoffs every year. Don't let anybody discount that.

But just know that you can be even better, and I think they know that. So I’d tell them to stay focused. Don't take it for granted. You can't take it for granted that you'll be back because you're a better team, and expectations are higher now.

Q: As a former owner in a spring league (Arena Football League), why do leagues like the USFL and XFL keep popping up despite struggles to stay alive?

CB: If you look at college football, there's a lot of talent that doesn’t make it to the NFL, guys who can continue to improve. You have a league that has limited rosters and a salary cap. Once you get down to the third guy on your depth chart and you’ve got two injuries, you need to be able to pull from some inventory somewhere. Sometimes a retired player gets off the couch to come and try to fill in--that has to suffice because there's nothing else out there as opposed to a kid that's in shape, who's been playing competitively, and not sitting on the couch for the whole year.

I think that’s why it works and is also part of my business because we've entered into that area also in the apparel world. We're going to be working with a few of those leagues.

Q: The Arena League survived for a few decades. As a former owner in that league, how can the USFL and XFL use its model to press forward?

CB: What it really comes down to is managing finances. You can’t overpay players. The (original) USFL had it right. They just raided the NFL, and they had a good run. You just have to be able to get talent, be appealing. There are always these kids that are at small schools that don't get the right look, that didn't even get invited to a combine that may be able to showcase their talents.

The model for sustainability is sound financial management. They have the networks interested To find revenue, I'm sure fantasy football will be a part of all of those leagues and make them entertaining.  

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