Backstage last night at Radio City Music Hall, well before the Chiefs’ selection with the 11th pick in the draft was announced, I saw someone carrying a red jersey with white letters and yellow trim that had the name “POE” on the back. I resisted the temptation (unlike another guy in the media who repeatedly took a page from his apple-eating Biblical namesake) to broadcast the pick via Twitter. Besides, I was more curious about something else.
How many different jerseys with “POE” on the back were in the building, and how could I finagle one of them?
League spokesman Brian McCarthy has supplied the answer: None.
For the first time ever, Nike was customizing the jerseys on site. Thus, for any of the 26 men in the green room, a jersey would have been instantly prepared for any team taking any player.
Brian sent along the picture of the process, with the names of each player ready to be printed up and applied to the back of the jerseys.
So there will be no collector’s items this year or, apparently, in any future years, like the Colts jersey bearing the name and number of Ryan Leaf, which Dan Patrick has in his studio.