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No sooner had the news broken that Mac Jones was now the starting quarterback of the New England Patriots, after Cam Newton had been released, that fans rushed to order his jersey.
His pre-season performances have already had Patriots fans drooling; now that Mac Jones is officially their team leader, they are ready to follow his lead and have his name on their backs.
How Mac Jones won the quarterback spot
Mac Jones was a rookie who everyone expected to be a backup. Instead, he came in hot and showed shades of Tom Brady in his prime. He has the ability to lead the team on long drives in the mould of what head coach Bill Belichick prefers. A great illustration of this was the game against the New York Giants.
Cam Newton threw for two out of five for 10 yards and one interception. Mac Jones threw for 10 out of 14 for a total of 156 yards, leading to one touchdown. Such performances led to him being rated the best rookie quarterback in pre-season.
Mac Jones' jersey sales
After such performances, it was no surprise to see Mac Jones as the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots. For a fanbase pining for Tom Brady, someone who played in the same vein would have to do. The parallels were too uncanny for Patriots fans to believe that history would not be repeating itself.
Just as Tom Brady replaced Drew Bledsoe as a starter so that the franchise never had to look back, Mac Jones has forced out the former overall number one player from the 2011 NFL Draft.
Within two hours of him being named the starting quarterback, Mac Jones' jerseys had vanished from the Patriots Pro Shop. That is another place where comparisons with Tom Brady are also apt. In terms of jerseys sold, Tom Brady far outpaces any other rival. But over a period of a couple of hours last night, he was not the leader in jersey sales as Mac Jones outshone him.
It was a fleeting moment, though. Tom Brady remains the league leader in jersey sales and does not care about mere moments. He measures his success in seasons, both on and off the field. Fans buying Mac Jones' jersey will hope that the pretender can emulate the man on the throne.
