With less than 10 minutes to go in Super Bowl XLIV, NFL employees
entered the ”secret room,” a storage area in the bowels of
Four said New Orleans Saints; the other four Indianapolis Colts.
As the clocked ticked down to five minutes, the bags
were on the field. But when it was clear the Saints were going to be
NFL champions, the Colts’ gear went back to the secret room.
By then, a half dozen NFL employees were on the
Saints’ sideline so they could easily distribute the shirts and hats to
players for the on-field awarding of the Lombardi Trophy.
The Colts’ gear will be boxed up and sent to a distribution center near
“We’ll ship it out tomorrow,” NFL senior director of on-field product
For years, the league would destroy the losers’ items after the game.
“We would literally incinerate it or shred it,” said
“Then it dawned us, it probably wasn’t the best use, because others around the world could use it.”
The NFL now designates the losers’ product for a new assignment. International relief organization
has been sending the gear to needy populations in developing countries
since 1994. Product is also collected from the retailers, such as
This year, the league and
Last year, Arizona Cardinals product went to
The NFL gets a tax deduction and avoids putting the product into landfills.
“It helps us meet really critical needs,” Kartes
said. “A lot of these children and families, literally haven’t had a
new item of clothing in their lives. It’s really touching. They don’t
care what’s written on it.”
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