How to spot a real NFL jersey

[steelerdude15]

Hello everyone, are some of you like me, who likes to wear and buy real NFL products? Do you think that fake products look bad and don't like the feel of them? Well, I'm here today to teach you on how to tell a fake from a real authentic jersey. (I sound like a salesmen ) This thread is going to have videos, pictures, etc. I hope you enjoy this and can use this when your looking to buy your real authentic jersey. O and one more thing, if your going to comment and bash this about buying real jerseys and things like that, don't comment. Thank you. Credit will be given to the original writers at the end of the page. This is a short-guide.

If you plan to purchase your authentic from the NFLshop.com, any team's official website or stores, or in our case, the Steelers official website and stores, you will buy a true authentic. Google and auction sites is where you need to be careful. Alright first off, there are many ways to tell the difference between a real and fake jersey. Unfortunately, fake jerseys are getting better and better at looking real every year. To start things off, let's look at what country the jerseys are made in. Many of today's jerseys are made in Vietnam, while some are also made in other countries. From what I know, Steelers jerseys are made in Vietnam. My new Heath Miller authentic is from Vietnam. Jerseys from China are fakes. Speaking of that, let's look at the tags on the back. The front blue Reebok tag will be shorter than the back white tag that has all the information on where its from, how to wash it, etc.

Now these pictures are a little older and are on Charger jerseys. The real tags are the ones that are longer than the fakes.

Next, lets look at the stitching of the numbers, nameplates, etc. For Steelers jerseys, the numbers are going to be slanted a little to the right for all players. The numbers are also not block-like. For all jerseys, the numbers on the front are smaller than they are the back.

Now, since we have the Miller and Harrison jerseys up, let's look at them more closely and for all Steelers jerseys. The Steelers logo or also known as the Appliqué, will be stitched on the upper left side of the jersey. If you run your finger on the logo, you should feel a little definition between the white background, the lettering for Steelers, and the three astroids (By the way, the astroids have meanings, but I'm too lazy to post them). There should be a silver lining around the white background and a very thin black line around the silver lining. You should also feel the definition between the white and silver with your finger. The replica and premier jerseys are screen printed on. With fakes, there could be too much definition, the colors could very bright, our the circle could be too big/small. Next, the NFL shield on the collar. Here's a picture showing a real and fake:

The real is on the left while the fake is on the right. The newer jerseys have four stars on each side of the football. Another thing are the sleeves on our jerseys. Two things to look out for are that real jersey sleeves are cuffed on the end and the yellow/white stripes are actual material and aren't printed on our anything like that. Premiers and replicas are printed on. Fakes could also be printed on as well. So, about the name plates. On the home jerseys, as you see in the pictures above, the lettering is a darker yellow than the sleeves and don't have any trim around them. The away jerseys, have a black lining around the lettering for the last name. Things to watch out for is nameplates that are bigger than normal or the yellow could be very dark or very bright. Another thing to look out for is that the name plate could be a little crooked. The Reebok emblem on the side for Steelers jerseys on the home jerseys are also stitched and appear to be a gray or silver color. One more thing, all patches like captain patches, SB patches, etc are not available to the public on real authentics! You can get these on replicas like the SB patches.

Now, to end this cause I'm tired of typing all of this are the jock tag, swing tags, and material. For real authentic jerseys, they are made out of one hundred percent polyester. They have small breathable holes on the front and back. The sides, shoulders, and sleeves have no holes and are a little stretchable. This is for the padding for the players. The Reebok swing tags have changed over the years and just recently changed again to a more rectangular gray tag. Older ones are usually square in dark blue. Two big things to watch out for are the hologram stickers and white NFLPA swing tags. The NFLPA tag should not come with the jersey, they were never made and were never used. A true authentic will not have one. The stickers have also changed patterns and shape over the years. I believe there a square now and our on the back, not the front the blue or gray Reebok swing tag.

Jocktags are huge indicators of fake or real jerseys. They are the blue tags on the bottom left of the jerseys. Things to look for are spaces between the NFL and Players part, the NFLPA emblem, and the NFL shield. Here is a picture of the NFLPA emblem:

Billsfan has already done the comparing (this is from him).

Even though this isn't the best page on jerseys, here are a couple of videos from NJUFP that will help clarify. The first one is the older one and the second one is the updated version.



Here are the credits and links:
To Billsfan from NFL Jersey Fan Paradise, thank you for all the information you have provided for everybody in the world about jerseys. If you ever come across this thread, please join us here.
The link to their forum:
http://nfljerseyfanparadise.forumotion.com/forum.htm
The videos are also provided by NJFP.
To whom ever wrote the article on Ebay about fakes and reals. Thank you for your advice and in-depth knowledge on the jerseys. Pictures also come from this individual. Here is the link to that page:
http://www.thumper300zx.com/jersey/fake_vs_real.htm
One more and of course the NFLshop for the pictures of the Miller and Harrison jerseys.
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