National Football League

Feds grab $21.6 million in counterfeits before Super Bowl

Published Jan. 30, 2014 10:26 a.m. ET

foxsports

NEW YORK -- Federal authorities and the NFL say they have seized $21.6 million worth of fake Super Bowl jerseys, hats and other items in a counterfeit goods crackdown.

The seizure was announced Thursday at a Manhattan news conference.

Authorities say most of the knockoffs were manufactured overseas. They say once the makers learned the Broncos and Seahawks made the Super Bowl, they rushed to make the goods with the teams' logos. Then the goods were smuggled into the U.S. using overnight shipping.

Authorities say buyers only get about a 10 percent price break and wind up with poor quality fake goods. They also say the losses caused by the counterfeiting drive up the price of legitimate goods.