“The shirt that players put on after the game, and the shirt they wear throughout the conference championship, are the ones that we print here,” said Scott Reardon, owner of Atlantis Sportswear, located at 344 Fox Drive, adding that the company is one of Fanatics’ top suppliers. “We started printing Super Bowl champions gear almost two weeks ago for both teams.”
Following the game, printing of Super Bowl championship shirts continued at Atlantis. Reardon said this batch of product will be shipped to smaller retail stores, some of which would rather wait for the game’s outcome than purchase memorabilia of both teams in advance. By Tuesday morning, the company was producing Super Bowl LVII parade shirts, which will make their way to Kansas City in time for the celebration Wednesday at 1 p.m.
What happens to the losing team’s shirts and merchandise?
In total, Atlantis Sportswear shipped around 300,000 championship shirts to State Farm Stadium prior to the game, Reardon said, with half depicting Philadelphia as champions and the other half showing Kansas City as victors.
“What retailers want nowadays is to be able to open their doors right after the game to start selling the merchandise,” he said, adding that although half of these shirts won’t be resold, they won’t be destroyed, either.
In a collaboration between Good360 and the NFL, and to ensure no third parties are profiting off the sale of the unique merchandise, the losing team’s apparel is donated to communities in need outside of the U.S. It may go to people living in Europe, Africa, or Asia.
The same is done with apparel of losing teams from conference championships.
Nearly four decades in business: ‘I didn’t have a backup plan’
Atlantis Sportswear began in 1985. The company now produces close to 5 million shirts each year. Reardon said he was first introduced to the world of screen-printing in the early ‘80s.
“A guy I worked for through Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken ended up buying a screen-print company in Florida ... he called and said, ‘Hey, I need you to come down and run this T-shirt company,’” Reardon said. “I’d never done anything like that, but I was willing to give it a go.”
After five years of learning the ins and outs of the business, Reardon was back in Ohio and in a position to start his own company. By 1990, Atlantis had become part of the collegiate licensing business with Ohio State University. The company remains a licensee for the college today.
Atlantis is also licensed through the NBA, NHL, NFL, Fanatics, the Dayton Dragons, the University of Dayton, Kroger, Ron Jon Surf Shop and multiple athleticwear companies.
“I just love it,” Reardon said. “I’m a sports fan and I love the excitement of being in a position to produce at the drop of a hat. It’s a cool industry.”
Though Atlantis has experienced growth and success through the years, Reardon said there was an element of risk involved.
“When I proposed to my wife, my mother-in-law asked me if I had a backup plan. We joked about it on our 25th company anniversary,” he said, noting the importance of picking the right market to enter into, as well as the value of networking.
“In Florida back then, the theme park market and the Orlando area — with places like Ron Jon Surf Shop — that was a hot market,” he said. “And I held onto those relationships I made then because my philosophy was if I can’t get into sports, or for those times that are between seasons, I still have (those options). It’s about finding that balance.”
Atlantis is run by Reardon and his son, Kyle, who he says will one day take over the family business.
“I’m turning more and more things over to him and he’s working to build relationships with our big customers,” Reardon said. “But I’m not ready to retire yet. I’m still having fun, and if you’re having fun, what the heck.”
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