Big Hats NFL: How Brian Robinson’s favor to his friend turned into sports merchandise phenom

Brian Robinson, currently a running back for the Washington Commanders, made an impact during his rookie season in 2022. He started nine out of 12 games, rushing for 797 yards and two touchdowns on 205 carries. He also caught nine passes for 60 yards and a touchdown.

While his numbers may not have been exceptional, Robinson garnered attention after a Week 12 win against the Atlanta Falcons when a photo circulated of him wearing an oversized baseball cap, which he referred to as a "big hat."

Brian Robinson wearing a Big Hat (image courtesy of Sam Fortier's Twitter account)

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Explaining the origins of Brian Robinson's "big hat"

Speaking to the Washington Post's Sam Fortier, Robinson said the hat came from a friend of his, Ron Dyer, who ran a big-hat business. Dyer, whose daughter attended Alabama with Robinson, purchased the hat from NogginBoss and customized it with the Commanders logo, with assistance from his son Kaleb.

NogginBoss was founded in 2019 by Phoenix natives Sean Starner and Gabe Cooper, and. Earlier in 2022, it appeared on the ABC series Shark Tank, expanding its national profile.

Since Robinson's photo, NoginBoss orders went up by 2,000%, according to outlets like TMZ. A week after Robinson, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was spotted wearing a NogginBoss hat with the Amazon Thursday Night Football logo shortly after his team defeated the New England Patriots:

And the Georgia Bulldogs football team donned a few ones during their national title celebration:

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What was the significance of Brian Robinson's "big-hat" moment?

The big-hat moment belied a significant milestone for Robinson: the game against the Falcons was the first time he had rushed for 100 yards as a pro. During the post-game huddle, coach Ron Rivera also gave Robinson the game ball as a keepsake. Then he spoke to his teammates about supporting him when he was out of football after almost being killed during a robbery that occurred the day after a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens:

“I’ve been wanting to say this in front of the team, but since everything happened back in August, man, I promise you — everybody in this room has shown unconditional love and support, man. Just to help me get to this point, for real, man, I couldn’t be more thankful for everybody in this room, man. Y’all was people I turned to the most after going through what I went through, man. Just to have this opportunity to do what I did today, I give all y’all the credit, man. Thank y’all.”

Speaking to reporters after the game, Robinson reflected on the milestone:

"It is just a special moment to have the opportunity to be able to do that and to do it after everything that's been going on this year."