After the Super Bowl LII game, the NFL will be distributing pre-printed merchandise declaring the New England Patriots’ victory — who lost to the Philadelphia Eagles — to communities in need.
Through a partnership with Good360, an organization that connects businesses to communities in need, the merchandise — mostly T-shirts, sweatshirts and hats — will go to underprivileged regions, wrote Shari Rudolph, Good360’s chief marketing officer, in an email.
“The collaboration between Good360 and the NFL not only helps serve those in need in underprivileged areas around the world, but it also ensures that the products are actually used and not destroyed or disposed of,” Rudolph wrote.
Good360 has not yet confirmed the specific locations or countries where this year’s pre-printed Patriots victory gear will be distributed. This is the fourth year the NFL has worked with Good360 to distribute the runner-up team’s merchandise to nonprofit organizations with a need for clothing.
Rudolph wrote that this partnership is a great way to bring a new life to products that would ultimately go to waste.
“This is a great example of a collaboration between organizations that takes product that might otherwise go to waste and ensures that it gets a new life and goes to a good cause when it’s distributed to people who might not otherwise have access to those kinds of goods,” Rudolph wrote.
Prior to its partnership with Good360, the NFL worked with other organizations to distribute its merchandise to overseas charities for decades, the NFL wrote in an email.
“The program is far-reaching, as Good360 works with nonprofits around the world and distributes product in areas where donations will have the most impact,” the NFL wrote. “Philanthropy is a priority of the NFL and this program is one of many ways we can give back to communities in need.”
Lucille Desoto, 27, of Dorchester said despite her lack of knowledge about football, she supports the NFL’s philanthropic efforts.
“I don’t know much about the Super Bowl, but from the perspective of giving it to charity, I think that it is a good act,” Desoto said. “[Communities in need] don’t have clothes, so [donating the merchandise] is a noble deed.”
While local, Boston-area organizations will not directly benefit from the NFL’s charitable contributions, Shannon Arnold, the director of development and external relations at FamilyAid Boston, an organization that works to prevent and end homelessness, wrote in an email that the NFL’s clothing donations will help families abroad at risk of homelessness.
“Donated clothing — particularly clean, new items — is a great and necessary resource as we work to ensure parents and children have their basic needs met and can focus on the goal of returning to stable housing,” Arnold wrote.
Khurram Khan, the office coordinator at Cradles to Crayons, an organization that helps children receive everyday essentials such as clothing, said while the victory apparel will not be used for its intended purpose, he is glad there are efforts to ensure people are benefited by their production.
“While it may not come to use in terms of merchandise being that it was planned for victory, and that didn’t happen, at least there’ll be some use coming out of this clothing,” Khan said. “It won’t go to waste.”
Hanna Park, 30, of Brighton, said while she supports the charitable initiative, she does not think it will make Patriots fans feel better about the team’s loss.
“I think it’s great to give back to the communities in need regardless of what it is,” Park said. “I’m also not a Patriots fan, so I don’t really have any feelings about their loss — I don’t think this program will make people feel better about the loss.”
Jeremy Mason, 33, of Brighton, confirmed Park’s expectations of Patriots fans. He said while he appreciates the NFL’s partnership with Good360, the Patriots could have had a greater impact on the community if they won.
“I think it’s great [but] it doesn’t make me feel better about the loss,” Mason said. “If they won, they could have [had] other ways [of] giving. Giving away clothes … isn’t the only way to give back to community. A successful football team has more capacity to give back than an unsuccessful one.”