EXCLUSIVE: Disney Debuts First Apparel Collection to Match Each NFL Team With an Iconic Character

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The new frontier (erm, Frontierland) Disney has been making inroads into as of late? Sports, in an effort to reach even more fans across generations. And its latest athletic courting ritual comes in the form of the Disney x Champion NFL Collection, announced last month and now available to shop online at fanatics.com, nflshop.com, and disneystore.com.

A landmark partnership seeking to “fuse two of the world’s most powerful fan ecosystems — sport and storytelling,” per a press release, the collection matches all 32 NFL teams with beloved Disney, “Star Wars,” Marvel, and Pixar characters as part of a line of sweatshirts, T-shirts, and hoodies that debuted at Fanatics Fest NYC on July 16.

Only eight team pairings were initially unveiled — the Buffalo Bills and the Beast; the Dallas Cowboys and Woody; the Las Vegas Raiders and Darth Vader; the New England Patriots and Captain America; the New York Giants and Wreck-It Ralph; the New York Jets and Buzz Lightyear; the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Captain Hook; as well as the Washington Commanders and Hamm. These were revealed on-stage at Fanatics Fest in an inventive Disney Fan Draft format, “reimagining the NFL Draft through an unmistakable Disney lens,” according to Disney.

Now, shoppers have access to 32, with Cleveland Browns x Pluto, Houston Texans x Jessie, and Seattle Seahawks x “Mine, Mine, Mine” Seagulls (of “Finding Nemo” fame) having already become instant, quick-to-sell-out favorites.

If you think the mashups are incongruous, think again. Disney and Champion worked from a place of intention for the entirety of this project’s extensive research and development phase. They’ve pointed out distinct team-character links like Hamm’s connection to the Commanders’ legendary offensive line “The Hogs”; Captain America’s inherent representation of leadership and patriotism, akin to what the Patriots stand for; the fact that the Cowboys and Woody are “rooted in classic cowboy iconography”; and the aviation-related parallels between the Jets and Buzz Lightyear.

“Great collaborations are built on shared cultural relevance, and that’s what made these pairings so compelling from a design perspective,” Marcus Rosie, Disney Consumer Product’s Global Creative SVP, shared exclusively with WWD. “By merging Disney’s character storytelling with the visual language of NFL fandom, we created a collection that feels equally at home in sports culture and everyday style.”

The monumental endeavor was teased earlier via a co-branded social media trailer starring NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. In the clip, the 67-year-old takes professional tips from Mickey Mouse over FaceTime, alluding to the close bond the two now have vis-à-vis their respective affiliations: both steeped in strong identity, rich legacy, and passionate fandom.