Las Vegas Darth Vaders? How Disney and the NFL partnered on a new apparel line for the upcoming season
As Disney gets set to begin its first NFL season broadcasting the Super Bowl in more than 20 years, the two companies launched an apparel line that debuted Thursday at Fanatics Fest in New York City pairing a specific iconic Disney character with all 32 teams.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and past and present football stars — including Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Emmitt Smith, Fernando Mendoza, Dion Dawkins and Damar Hamlin — took the convention’s main stage to hold a Disney fan draft that revealed the first nine teams, along with their corresponding Disney, Pixar and Marvel characters, from the collection that are available for purchase at the company’s fan zone inside the Javits Center. The full collection will be unveiled in August, where they’ll be widely available at Fanatics and Disney online retailers.
“In today’s culture, style is an expression of fandom,” said Casey Collins, the NFL’s senior vice president of consumer products and licensing. “Bringing together the powerful branding of NFL teams and Disney characters reflects our commitment to living at the intersection of sports and fashion. We are excited to take this collection to market.”
Bret Healey, the director of graphic design for Disney’s consumer products division, was tasked with bringing this collaboration to life along with Champion. About a year ago, he came up with the idea to pair teams with an iconic Disney character that best aligned with the franchise’s aesthetic.
“We sat down, looked at all the teams and said we’re going to pick the character that best matches the team’s history, fans and moments,” Healey told Yahoo Sports. “It could also be the best mascot that best suits that team.”
Smith went on stage and picked Woody from “Toy Story” for the Dallas Cowboys, which Healey said was one of the first character matches they decided on.
“He’s got that classic American heritage,” Healey said. “He’s a hero. Feels victorious. Everyone loves Woody. That was one of the natural ones.”
Brady and Mendoza picked another ideal fit, with the Las Vegas Raiders being paired with Darth Vader from “Star Wars.” Another easy one for Healey was linking the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Captain Hook, which Gronkowski announced on stage. Megan Keller, who scored the gold medal-winning goal for the U.S. women’s hockey team at the 2026 Milan Olympics, selected Captain America for the New England Patriots.
“The Disney Fan Draft demonstrated how powerful the combination of sports, storytelling and fan passion can be,” said Paul Gitter, the EVP of global commercialization, Disney consumer products. “The Disney-Champion NFL Collection represents an important milestone in a broader effort to deepen fan engagement that will continue to unfold through new products, experiences and consumer touchpoints throughout the ‘Year of the Super Bowl.'”
The Buffalo Bills were paired with Beast from “Beauty and the Beast,” the New York Giants took Wreck-It Ralph, the Philadelphia Eagles will be represented by Marvel comics’ Dr. Doom, the Washington Commanders were coupled with Disney and Pixar’s Hamm and the New York Jets were joined with the iconic Buzz Lightyear from “Toy Story.”
“You think of Buzz. He flies. And you also like the story of the Jets becoming a team around the dawn of the space age,” Healey said. “There was a back and forth with almost every team. We love the Doom personality tied back to the Eagles. We didn’t know what we were going to do with the Commanders. But we thought of the hogs, the iconic offensive line from the 1980s, and it was a little bit of a if-you-know-you-know moment for the fans.”
Hosted by Taylor Rooks, the draft also featured appearances from CJ Mosley, Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham and WWE superstar Alexa Bliss. Disney characters will be walking around the fan zone at Fanatics Fest all weekend to celebrate the collaboration’s launch ahead of ESPN’s first Super Bowl season.
“There’s no better place to unveil something like the Disney-Champion NFL Collection than at Fanatics Fest NYC in front of the most passionate fans in sports,” said Lance Fensterman, CEO of Fanatics Events. “Today’s live draft, featuring these iconic brands and pairing Disney’s characters alongside many of the biggest names in sports and entertainment is exactly the kind of moment that only Fanatics Fest can deliver.”
