Authenticating Football Shirts - Nike Kits
When purchasing a football shirt you should always check that you’re getting the real deal. In our last blog post we explained the process of ‘Legit Checking’ Adidas football shirts; in this post we are going to go through the main ways of authenticating football shirts made by Nike.
Product code label
The vast majority of Nike jerseys from the mid to late 2000s will come with a small product code label, as pictured below, that can usually be found under the wash tags at the hem of the shirt. Similar to the method of authenticating Adidas jerseys, the code highlighted below can be typed in to Google Images and should produce a set of results matching the shirt in question.
Tags
If you are unable to get a photo of the wash tags before purchasing a kit, there is another very reliable way of authenticating the shirt. All modern, brand new and legitimate Nike football shirts will have tags that hang down from the sleeves of the kit. If the labels are attached to the collar of the shirt or somewhere else, there is a very high chance that the product is fake and is one to avoid.
Quality and stitching
This method of evaluation can be used for any manufacturer, including Nike. If you can’t look at the product code or tags when purchasing a football shirt, then the backup method should always be to closely analyse the material and quality of the shirt - pay extra attention to the logos and embroidery, compare what you see to shirts on Nike’s official website or from other trusted retailers. The most obvious quality difference is usually in the club badge, if it looks distorted, discoloured or off centre then the shirt is probably not legitimate.
Tag Exceptions
In very rare cases, some legitimate Nike football kits will not have codes that will match up with a Google. This is usually to do with the shirt not being commercially available, which is often the case with player issue or match worn jerseys. Another reason can be because some football shirts may only be sold in a club shop and not via an online retailer. This can mean they may not show up in search results. Additionally, if a shirt is from a particularly small or obscure side it may not have appeared online before.
If you have a shirt that you believe to be real, with tags that don’t match with google, be sure to drop us a message and we will be happy to help in authenticating it.
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