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November 11, 2025
Will the NFL Collaboration Be a Touchdown for Lululemon?
Lululemon, stretching beyond its yoga roots, announced its first partnership with the National Football League (NFL) to make fan apparel and accessories under the league’s 32 team colors logos.
The offerings include core Lululemon products from its Steady State men’s franchise, along with signature women’s styles — including Define, Scuba and Align. The partnership marks a collaboration with Fanatics, which holds exclusive consumer product licensing rights for Nike’s NFL apparel.
Fans can shop the collection on the NFL’s online shop, Fanatics, and team retail locations, including online and at stadium stores.
To support the launch, former NFL stars like Joe Montana, Nick Foles, Ryan Clark, and Emmanuel Acho are being featured in a “Welcome to the Fam Club” campaign, which spotlights the families behind the athletes.
“True NFL fans wear their pride. For them, fan gear is more than apparel, it’s a badge of loyalty and a way to instantly connect with a community that is like a family,” said Celeste Burgoyne, president, Americas and global guest innovation, Lululemon. “We looked to honor that passionate devotion and are thrilled to be part of that ritual found throughout the NFL season.”
Said Renie Anderson, EVP and chief revenue officer for the NFL, “Lululemon boasts a loyal fan base built on culture, meaningful connections and innovation, qualities that thoroughly reflect the NFL.”
NFL Collabs Increasing in Visibility, Diversity
The move comes as the NFL earlier this year named Abercrombie & Fitch NFL’s first official fashion partner, also forming other fashion partnerships to support its growing female fan base. A September poll by Ipsos found that 41% of American women were NFL fans.
Lululemon formed a similar partnership last year with the National Hockey League (NHL), with both deals seen helping the brand increase awareness among men. In the U.S., men’s apparel makes up around a quarter of Lululemon’s sales.
Lululemon Facing Significant Headwinds
Lululemon’s shares have tumbled about 60% this year due to growth concerns. Same-stores sales in the Americas fell 4% in the second quarter, with management blaming weakness in lifestyle offerings due to an over-reliance on core franchises and poor innovation. CEO Calvin McDonald said on an analyst call, “We have become too predictable within our casual offerings and missed opportunities to create new trends.”
McDonald also said Lululemon is facing more competition in its space amid investor concerns over upstarts such as Alo Yoga and Vuori. He vowed to increase the percentage of new styles, accelerate product updates, and speed the replenishment of popular items.
Needham analyst Tom Nikic told Business of Fashion, “They’re trying to find that next big thing, or next big innovation that’s going to reinvigorate the business.”
One critic of Lululemon’s NFL partnership is Jefferies analyst Randy Konik, who in a note described the move as a “Hail Mary” that signaled “deeper strategic confusion” for Lululemon. Konik similarly felt Lululemon’s move to partner with Walt Disney to sell gear featuring both Mickey Mouse and the Lululemon name risked alienating core upscale female customers.
He said, “Rather than reinforcing its core, this move highlights a pattern of chasing non-core growth at the expense of brand clarity, risking further erosion of [Lululemon’s] premium positioning and [long-term] biz stability.”
Discussion Questions
Does the Lululemon/NFL partnership make sense for both the brand and the league?
Do you see Lululemon risking alienating its core female consumers with its move into sports fan apparel or do you see an opportunity to reignite its growth?
Poll
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Tom Ryan
Managing Editor, RetailWire
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This is a good initiative and the assortment looks solid. It will likely have good sell through and will probably appeal beyond the traditional Lululemon customer base. All that said, this is an incremental side-venture and I do not see it as remedying the problems that have the core assortment plateauing in North America.
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The Lululemon/NFL partnership does make strategic sense for both parties. The brand is entering officially licensed fan-apparel territory for all 32 NFL teams in collaboration with Fanatics and the league. For the NFL, a partner like Lululemon brings premium fashion credentials and access to a more style-conscious consumer base. For Lululemon, this partnership offers the opportunity to broaden its appeal — particularly among male and fashion-savvy sports fans — and inject excitement and novelty into a brand currently navigating headwinds.
From my perspective, the move is positive rather than risky when it comes to its core female consumers, because of the growing interest in the NFL among women. Research shows that women now represent a very meaningful share of the NFL fan base (for example, one study found 46 % of NFL fans were female, and the league itself cites 41 % of American women report being NFL fans). The rise is driven by cultural moments (the so-called “Taylor Swift effect”), stream-accessible broadcasts, fashion and lifestyle overlays, and “helmets-off” storytelling that humanizes players and highlights players’ off-field lives. Thus, Lululemon’s entry into fan apparel doesn’t necessarily alienate female customers — rather, it taps into their dual roles as style-focused consumers and emerging sports fans. It gives the brand permission to merge athleisure, fashion, and fan fervor under one roof.
Given my background as a former buyer required me to understand and leverage consumer insights in assortment and promo strategies, I am confident that this isn’t a “riddle” that can’t be decoded. The consumer truth here is straightforward: women are increasingly engaging with the NFL and seeking premium ways to express fandom. If Lululemon executes this partnership with tight alignment to its brand DNA (premium materials, technical performance, style) and ensures its core “female-first” base doesn’t feel sidelined in favor of new segments, the opportunity is real. The thing to watch: execution, clarity of offer, relevance to the target consumer, and ensuring that the collection feels on-brand rather than forced.
Joe Montana...really? Joe Namath wasn’t available? OK, snark aside, this idea leaves me with a solid…”meh”. I don’t know if there’s a risk of alienation as much as just not making an impression at all. Lulemon is about doing, not being (a fan of somethig else); and while there will be people, of course, who are both, the crossover potential doesn’t immediately jump up at me.
By partnering with the NFL, Lululemon fuses quality, community and collaboration in a way dupes can’t replicate.
Targeting both men and women will help Lululemon and the NFL grow the game and ring up retail sales.
Premium, licensed apparel will help diehards and new fans feel a sense of belonging and community at games, at home and at watch parties.
Apparel matters in sports: Blue Jays fans turned Canada into a sea of blue jerseys during their 2025 postseason run. Fanatics’ supply chain showed impressive agility.
As retail, sports and media converge, more brands will seek opportunities to partner with major sports leagues to fuel growth.
The partnership between Lululemon and the NFL aligns with the company’s strategy of expanding its market presence in the athletic apparel sector, particularly among male consumers.Meanwhile, the NFL benefits from its association with a premium brand that resonates with health-conscious and active consumers, potentially attracting a wider audience.By collaborating with the NFL, Lululemon will be able to enhance its brand visibility and drive sales while the NFL will be able to reach a diverse audience.