Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson Top NFLPI's List for Merchandise Sales

With his playing future in doubt after losing to Indianapolis in the divisional round, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is a hot commodity when it comes to merchandise. Actually, he was before anyone had questions about retirement. 

According to Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes.com, Manning was the NFL's top merchandise seller from September 1 through November 30:

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NFL Players Inc. released its quarterly ranking of the top 50 players for merchandise sales and Manning unseated the second quarter champion, Russell Wilson, to top the list. The ranking represents sales between September 1 and November 30 from jerseys, t-shirts, photos, bobbleheads and other accessories sold by more than 80 NFLPI licensees like Nike, Fanatics, Fathead and McFarlane Toys. Manning outsold all players in Fatheads, bobbleheads and Nike game jerseys.

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Here is a look at the top 10 players in merchandise sales from the third quarter, with the full list of 50 being available in Badenhausen's report:

Rank	Player	Team
1	Peyton Manning, QB	Denver Broncos
2	Russell Wilson, QB	Seattle Seahawks
3	Colin Kaepernick, QB	San Francisco 49ers
4	Dez Bryant, WR	Dallas Cowboys
5	Tom Brady, QB	New England Patriots
6	Aaron Rodgers, QB	Green Bay Packers
7	J.J. Watt, DE	Houston Texans
8	Richard Sherman, CB	Seattle Seahawks
9	LeSean McCoy, RB	Philadelphia Eagles
10	Marshawn Lynch, RB	Seattle Seahawks

Even though Manning holds the overall crown, there's no doubt that the Seattle Seahawks are the biggest winner. The defending Super Bowl champions have three players in the top 10 of merchandise sales and, per Badenhausen's report, five in the top 50 with Earl Thomas (29th) and Kam Chancellor (31st) lower on the list. 

There are not many surprising names on the list, especially in the top 10. Colin Kaepernick may be the one outlier because of his struggles this season, but he's proved to be a big draw because everyone has a strong opinion about him one way or the other. 

It will be interesting to see what happens with Manning's merchandise numbers if he opts to return for one more season after that disappointing playoff loss. He's always been one of the league's biggest draws, and the opportunity to get one last shot at his gear while playing would surely interest fans.