June 11, 2025 • 7 mins
Ever wondered why a Steph Curry Golden State Warriors jersey costs $180 in Australia? In this video, we break down the hidden costs behind fan merchandise, from manufacturing to licensing and retail markups. Get the inside scoop on what makes these jerseys so expensive and why fans are willing to pay the price! We have the answers because we are Australia's leading wholesale supplier of custom merchandise, and custom jerseys to 1st Tier Sports clubs around the country. Read the blog here: https://www.cubicpromote.com.au/blog/why-steph-currys-golden-state-custom-printed-jersey-costs-180-in-australia
Find out more and visit our website: https://www.cubicpromote.com.au/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to the next episode of the Promo Playbook by
(00:03):
Cubic Promote.
Today, we're going to be talkingabout sportswear, sports
licensing, and the price of fanitems like football jerseys,
basketball jerseys.
and other related fanmerchandise and fan apparel.
So once again, I've got myfriend Anil here.
SPEAKER_01 (00:20):
G'day, Charles.
Look, thanks for bringing thisup.
This is something that'sactually quite close to my
heart.
Just the other day, I took myson, 15-year-old, to the rugby
game, the Roosters.
They won, by the way.
And I had to buy him all of thismerch, this sports merch, and it
was so expensive.
Like, coming from the apparelindustry myself, I do know what
(00:40):
the underlying costs of thesethings are, but why is it A team
jersey, like$150 to$180.
It's crazy stuff.
What's the breakdown?
Who gets the money
SPEAKER_00 (00:51):
from this?
It's crazy stuff.
Me and my son, we love NBA.
We love basketball.
And I've got here, this is ajersey I got him.
If you're listening to thispodcast, I'm holding on to a
picture of a Warriors, GoldenState Warriors, Steph Curry fan.
Take a guess.
How much did this jersey cost,Neil?
SPEAKER_01 (01:08):
It would have to be at least$140 to$150.
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (01:12):
That's a good guess, but you're a bit off.
More.
SPEAKER_01 (01:15):
More?
We can't afford it.
$180,000.
Where does the money go,Charles?
SPEAKER_00 (01:19):
That is crazy.
You know what?
We're going to get an expert in,one of our resident experts,
Wendy Lee.
I'm going to have her break downall the numbers for us.
SPEAKER_01 (01:28):
Wow.
She's coming on site to tell usabout this.
I've heard a lot about her.
SPEAKER_00 (01:31):
Yeah, 100%.
Good things.
I'll get her on right now.
Excellent.
I look forward to it.
Hey, so Wendy, I was justtalking to my mate Anil a moment
ago, and we were talking aboutthe price of...
sporting goods, fan merchandisespecifically.
And I was talking about a StephCurry jersey that I purchased
from my son.
We're Golden State Warrior fans.
They're not in the finals thisyear, but it doesn't stop us
(01:52):
from being fans.
And this jersey that I've gothere, for those listening on
podcast, was$180 Australiandollars.
And now I know you have a bit ofexperience with merchandising,
working with custom branding forsports teams, both big and small
around Australia.
Can you take us through exactlywhy this jersey would cost$180?
(02:14):
Surely this jersey cannotpossibly be that much to
produce, right?
So what are some of the basiccosts, Wendy?
SPEAKER_02 (02:22):
Sure.
So you are right about itdoesn't cost that much to
produce.
In fact, the cost price toproduce that exactly jersey is
only around$20.
SPEAKER_00 (02:30):
$20?
Yes.
So it costs$20 to come out of afactory, but by the time it hits
the shores...
for us to make a purchase is$180.
So that's$160 that we need tomake up a difference for us to
understand why.
SPEAKER_02 (02:42):
Well, as you all know, labor in Australia isn't
cheap and rent isn't cheap.
So half of the$180, roughlyaround$90, is going to retailers
markup so they can use to paytheir rent, pay their labor in
Australia.
SPEAKER_00 (02:58):
So$90 and the jersey is$180, but we're going to take
$180, we're going to minus$20,that's$160.
So$160 minus$90, that leaves us,if my mathematics is right,$70.
So where exactly does the$70come from, assuming$90 goes to
the retailers?
SPEAKER_02 (03:16):
Sure, so$70...
don't forget there's a big chunkof it going to license.
So the manufacturer will need tobuy license from NBA as well as
from Golden State.
So I think NBA represent thewhole league, including Golden
SPEAKER_00 (03:29):
State.
That's definitely there.
So sports licensing, that's avery, very big piece out there.
So who exactly gets the money insports licensing?
Is it a combination of thesporting teams?
Is it the NBA Association?
Is it Steph Curry himself?
Or is it?
all these parties involvedgetting a chunk of the$30?
SPEAKER_02 (03:51):
So say you take the example of$30.
So in NBA's case, it's the NBAfirstly get the$30 first.
However, all the team will haveagreement with NBA annually.
You have to, you know, out ofyour income, give me 5%, 10%,
which is confidential, so I canjust make up a number.
(04:11):
So then indirectly, your$30 atthe end of the year will go into
the team.
And then it depends on theplayer, how they sign the
agreement with the team.
So they might have to cut offrevenue.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (04:22):
Depending on how good the player is.
SPEAKER_02 (04:24):
And how good the player and how good is the
bargaining power.
SPEAKER_00 (04:27):
Sure, sure.
Okay, so now we're almost at thefull$180 price.
What are some of the otherelements that you're aware of
that makes up$180 final price tome?
This is Australian dollars, bythe way, audience.
SPEAKER_02 (04:40):
So the final price, including shipment, because you
have to ship the goods toAustralia.
to Australia, to the store.
So that three cost involved aswell as, and another big chunk
will be marketing.
So yes, as good as the shirt andSteph Curry wear it, they may
want to hire some influencer onTikTok or on Instagram to wear
the same jersey to make it hot,like a hot item.
(05:02):
And they all cost money.
So another big chunk of spendingwill be marketing.
SPEAKER_00 (05:07):
Okay.
And
SPEAKER_02 (05:07):
then that's all.
That's all the material, all thethings you make up for the cost
price of a shirt.
SPEAKER_00 (05:12):
Okay, so there you go.
Straight from an expertise'smouth,$180 jersey.
The breakup is a combination ofthe sports licensing, The cost
of the product, the markup forthe retailers, some marketing
involved and some freight andlogistics.
Fantastic.
Well, thank you for sharing.
I think our audience would havelearned quite a bit today.
SPEAKER_02 (05:31):
Sure.
But next time, please useLakers.
I'm a Lakers fan.
I refuse to talk about GoldenState.
SPEAKER_00 (05:36):
Sure.
Go Lakers.
Yes.
Thank you for watching,everyone.
No
SPEAKER_02 (05:40):
worries.
SPEAKER_00 (05:42):
So that was really interesting listening to Wendy
talk about the breakdowns of a$180 sports jersey and the
different components that makeup the total cost.
One of the few things that wehaven't talked about with sports
jerseys, sports marketing, aswell as the sports licensing
industry in general, is thedifference between star players
(06:04):
as well as star teams.
If you're purchasing one of themajor teams, likely you'll be
paying a bit more money.
If you're purchasing a jerseywith a star player's logo at the
back of it, likely that playerwill be taking on board a
licensing cut too of the fee,which in your terms means, or
our terms, means that we'll bepaying more for a Steph Curry
(06:25):
jersey compared to, say, a benchplayer on the Golden State
Warriors.
And this experience isreplicated between other
Australian sports as well.
Your A-leagues, your NRLs, yourunions, and all the different
codes that we play in Australia.
The sports licensing is a verybig industry.
And in future episodes, we'regoing to talk about the impact
(06:47):
of counterfeits on this marketas well.
There are some amazingcounterfeits that have been
created over the past couple ofyears where the quality of these
counterfeits is on par with theoriginal jerseys.
And in some instances, they evensurpass the quality of original
jerseys.
It's fascinating.
We'll dissect through a coupleof different jerseys.
We'll literally cut them up infront of the camera to show the
(07:10):
audience here exactly thedifferences between quality or
poorly made quality products,official quality products from
the leading franchises, as wellas counterfeit products and
counterfeits of extremely highquality as well.
So stay tuned for the nextepisode.
Welcome to the next episode of the Promo Playbook by
(00:03):
Cubic Promote.
Today, we're going to be talkingabout sportswear, sports
licensing, and the price of fanitems like football jerseys,
basketball jerseys.
and other related fanmerchandise and fan apparel.
So once again, I've got myfriend Anil here.
SPEAKER_01 (00:20):
G'day, Charles.
Look, thanks for bringing thisup.
This is something that'sactually quite close to my
heart.
Just the other day, I took myson, 15-year-old, to the rugby
game, the Roosters.
They won, by the way.
And I had to buy him all of thismerch, this sports merch, and it
was so expensive.
Like, coming from the apparelindustry myself, I do know what
(00:40):
the underlying costs of thesethings are, but why is it A team
jersey, like$150 to$180.
It's crazy stuff.
What's the breakdown?
Who gets the money
SPEAKER_00 (00:51):
from this?
It's crazy stuff.
Me and my son, we love NBA.
We love basketball.
And I've got here, this is ajersey I got him.
If you're listening to thispodcast, I'm holding on to a
picture of a Warriors, GoldenState Warriors, Steph Curry fan.
Take a guess.
How much did this jersey cost,Neil?
SPEAKER_01 (01:08):
It would have to be at least$140 to$150.
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (01:12):
That's a good guess, but you're a bit off.
More.
SPEAKER_01 (01:15):
More?
We can't afford it.
$180,000.
Where does the money go,Charles?
SPEAKER_00 (01:19):
That is crazy.
You know what?
We're going to get an expert in,one of our resident experts,
Wendy Lee.
I'm going to have her break downall the numbers for us.
SPEAKER_01 (01:28):
Wow.
She's coming on site to tell usabout this.
I've heard a lot about her.
SPEAKER_00 (01:31):
Yeah, 100%.
Good things.
I'll get her on right now.
Excellent.
I look forward to it.
Hey, so Wendy, I was justtalking to my mate Anil a moment
ago, and we were talking aboutthe price of...
sporting goods, fan merchandisespecifically.
And I was talking about a StephCurry jersey that I purchased
from my son.
We're Golden State Warrior fans.
They're not in the finals thisyear, but it doesn't stop us
(01:52):
from being fans.
And this jersey that I've gothere, for those listening on
podcast, was$180 Australiandollars.
And now I know you have a bit ofexperience with merchandising,
working with custom branding forsports teams, both big and small
around Australia.
Can you take us through exactlywhy this jersey would cost$180?
(02:14):
Surely this jersey cannotpossibly be that much to
produce, right?
So what are some of the basiccosts, Wendy?
SPEAKER_02 (02:22):
Sure.
So you are right about itdoesn't cost that much to
produce.
In fact, the cost price toproduce that exactly jersey is
only around$20.
SPEAKER_00 (02:30):
$20?
Yes.
So it costs$20 to come out of afactory, but by the time it hits
the shores...
for us to make a purchase is$180.
So that's$160 that we need tomake up a difference for us to
understand why.
SPEAKER_02 (02:42):
Well, as you all know, labor in Australia isn't
cheap and rent isn't cheap.
So half of the$180, roughlyaround$90, is going to retailers
markup so they can use to paytheir rent, pay their labor in
Australia.
SPEAKER_00 (02:58):
So$90 and the jersey is$180, but we're going to take
$180, we're going to minus$20,that's$160.
So$160 minus$90, that leaves us,if my mathematics is right,$70.
So where exactly does the$70come from, assuming$90 goes to
the retailers?
SPEAKER_02 (03:16):
Sure, so$70...
don't forget there's a big chunkof it going to license.
So the manufacturer will need tobuy license from NBA as well as
from Golden State.
So I think NBA represent thewhole league, including Golden
SPEAKER_00 (03:29):
State.
That's definitely there.
So sports licensing, that's avery, very big piece out there.
So who exactly gets the money insports licensing?
Is it a combination of thesporting teams?
Is it the NBA Association?
Is it Steph Curry himself?
Or is it?
all these parties involvedgetting a chunk of the$30?
SPEAKER_02 (03:51):
So say you take the example of$30.
So in NBA's case, it's the NBAfirstly get the$30 first.
However, all the team will haveagreement with NBA annually.
You have to, you know, out ofyour income, give me 5%, 10%,
which is confidential, so I canjust make up a number.
(04:11):
So then indirectly, your$30 atthe end of the year will go into
the team.
And then it depends on theplayer, how they sign the
agreement with the team.
So they might have to cut offrevenue.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (04:22):
Depending on how good the player is.
SPEAKER_02 (04:24):
And how good the player and how good is the
bargaining power.
SPEAKER_00 (04:27):
Sure, sure.
Okay, so now we're almost at thefull$180 price.
What are some of the otherelements that you're aware of
that makes up$180 final price tome?
This is Australian dollars, bythe way, audience.
SPEAKER_02 (04:40):
So the final price, including shipment, because you
have to ship the goods toAustralia.
to Australia, to the store.
So that three cost involved aswell as, and another big chunk
will be marketing.
So yes, as good as the shirt andSteph Curry wear it, they may
want to hire some influencer onTikTok or on Instagram to wear
the same jersey to make it hot,like a hot item.
(05:02):
And they all cost money.
So another big chunk of spendingwill be marketing.
SPEAKER_00 (05:07):
Okay.
And
SPEAKER_02 (05:07):
then that's all.
That's all the material, all thethings you make up for the cost
price of a shirt.
SPEAKER_00 (05:12):
Okay, so there you go.
Straight from an expertise'smouth,$180 jersey.
The breakup is a combination ofthe sports licensing, The cost
of the product, the markup forthe retailers, some marketing
involved and some freight andlogistics.
Fantastic.
Well, thank you for sharing.
I think our audience would havelearned quite a bit today.
SPEAKER_02 (05:31):
Sure.
But next time, please useLakers.
I'm a Lakers fan.
I refuse to talk about GoldenState.
SPEAKER_00 (05:36):
Sure.
Go Lakers.
Yes.
Thank you for watching,everyone.
No
SPEAKER_02 (05:40):
worries.
SPEAKER_00 (05:42):
So that was really interesting listening to Wendy
talk about the breakdowns of a$180 sports jersey and the
different components that makeup the total cost.
One of the few things that wehaven't talked about with sports
jerseys, sports marketing, aswell as the sports licensing
industry in general, is thedifference between star players
(06:04):
as well as star teams.
If you're purchasing one of themajor teams, likely you'll be
paying a bit more money.
If you're purchasing a jerseywith a star player's logo at the
back of it, likely that playerwill be taking on board a
licensing cut too of the fee,which in your terms means, or
our terms, means that we'll bepaying more for a Steph Curry
(06:25):
jersey compared to, say, a benchplayer on the Golden State
Warriors.
And this experience isreplicated between other
Australian sports as well.
Your A-leagues, your NRLs, yourunions, and all the different
codes that we play in Australia.
The sports licensing is a verybig industry.
And in future episodes, we'regoing to talk about the impact
(06:47):
of counterfeits on this marketas well.
There are some amazingcounterfeits that have been
created over the past couple ofyears where the quality of these
counterfeits is on par with theoriginal jerseys.
And in some instances, they evensurpass the quality of original
jerseys.
It's fascinating.
We'll dissect through a coupleof different jerseys.
We'll literally cut them up infront of the camera to show the
(07:10):
audience here exactly thedifferences between quality or
poorly made quality products,official quality products from
the leading franchises, as wellas counterfeit products and
counterfeits of extremely highquality as well.
So stay tuned for the nextepisode.
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