McFarlane Toys Gets NFL License (original) (raw)

McFarlane Toys has inked agreements with both the NFL and Players Inc., which represents the NFL Players Association, to create a line of collectible football figures that will appear with authentic-looking game apparel, complete with grass and mud stains and official team logos. McFarlane Toys will produce two series of Sports Picks NFL action figures this year, the first set for an August release and the second for November. The poseable figures will stand six inches high and should retail for between 8and8 and 8and10.

The McFarlane figures fill a gap left by the demise of Hasbro's once dominant 'Starting Lineup' sports figures (see 'Hasbro Cuts Starting Lineup'), which included basketball, baseball, and hockey stars as well as football players. McFarlane Toys already makes Sports Picks figures for baseball and hockey.

Starting Lineup Pales
in Comparison

In the year that McFarlane Toys has been making sports action figures, the company has done a much better job of capturing the likenesses of players than Hasbro ever did with the Starting Lineup figures -- Brett Favre's own mother wouldn't have recognized his Starting Lineup action figure. A year ago McFarlane only had licenses from the Players Associations of the three leagues, but the high quality of the Sports Picks figures has enabled the company to win agreements from the licensing arms of the sports leagues as well, allowing McFarlane Toys to create authentic-looking uniforms complete with team logos.

The first series of Sports Picks NFL action figures will include Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys, Edgerrin James of the Indianapolis Colts, Randy Moss of the Minnesota Vikings, Kurt Warner of the St. Louis Rams, Warren Sapp of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Eddie George of the Tennessee Titans. The second series will include Marshal Faulk of the St. Louis Rams, Wayne Chrebet of the New York Jets, Daunte Culpepper of the Minnesota Vikings, Mark Brunnell of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Marvin Harrison of the Indianapolis Colts, and Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears.

McFarlane Toys' deal with the NFL puts the company three-quarters of the way towards its goal of covering all four major American sports. Only the NBA remains to conquer, and, once the current NBA Finals are over, look for the toymaker to put the final jewel in the crown. After all, who could resist an Allen Iverson figure with every cornrow and tat meticulously reproduced in a six-inch vinyl simulacrum?