The shocking Chiefs player who sold more NFL gear than Travis Kelce

It turns out controversy really pays off.

Sep 5, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) laughs with team mates against the Baltimore Ravens during warm ups at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Controversy sure pays off, seeing as Harrison Butker sold more NFL merchandise than even Travis Kelce this past spring. 

The NFL Players Association’s player sales list — which tracked sales of adult and youth game jerseys, T-shirts, hoodies, bobbleheads, pet products, and more between March 1 and May 31 — was released on Tuesday, September, 17, listing Butker, 29, as No. 11. Kelce, 34, fell just behind him, coming in at No. 12. 

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A post shared by Harrison Butker (@buttkicker7)

This was the first appearance on the top 50 list for Butker, who garnered criticism after his May 11 commencement address at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas branded Pride Month a “deadly sin” and advised the graduating women to embrace becoming “homemakers.” 

He infamously told the women graduating college that they are sold “diabolical lies,” before slamming any who aimed to pursue careers. “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world,” he said.

The backlash for the speech was swift, with a Change.org petition calling for his removal from the Chiefs garnering over 260K signatures. Instead, that August the Chiefs went on to re-sign Butker with the highest contract for a kicker in the NFL — $26.5 million for four years. 

The controversy clearly also did not hurt his merchandise sales, which made him only the second placekicker in history to rank inside the top 50 on the list. Evan McPherson of the Cincinnati Bengals also made the list in 2022. 

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A post shared by CJ Stroud (@cj7stroud)

His teammate, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, ranked No. 2 on the list, just behind another quarterback, top seller C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans. 

The rest of the top five included Detroit Lions stars Aidan Hutchinson — who rose 15 spots from the previous list — and Amon-Ra St. Brown — who rose a whopping 29 spots from the previous list — and Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals. 

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