Aaron Hernandez fans who dished out big bucks for a jersey of the former New England Patriot will get a bit of consolation after the tight end was arrested for first-degree murder.
The media attention Hernandez has garnered since being arrested for the murder of Odin Lloyd has caused memorabilia to explode in value. Aaron Hernandez football jerseys are now selling on eBay for twice their original cost .
Ben Kent, a 32-year-old fan from Virginia Beach, listed his Hernandez jersey on eBay on Wednesday for $50. Within a few days it had jumped to close to $230 and had accumulated more than 2,300 views.
Kent said he would never be able to wear the jersey in public again, but wasn’t trying to make a profit off of it.
Fans who want to unload their Aaron Hernandez jerseys but don’t need to make a profit have another option. On Friday the New England Patriots announced that fans will have a chance to exchange the Hernandez jerseys for anything of equal value.
The jersey exchange is available during the weekend of July 6-7 at the Patriot Pro Shop.
“We know that children love wearing their Patriots jerseys but may not understand why parents don’t want them wearing their Hernandez jerseys anymore,” Patriots spokesman Stacey James said in a statement. “We hope this opportunity to exchange those jerseys at the Patriots Pro Shop for another player’s jersey will be well received by parents.”
The team showed fans much more sympathy than they gave to Hernandez. Within two hours of his arrest last week the team announced he had been cut.
Hernandez had never cracked the top 100 most popular jerseys on NFLShop.com, but this week is among Robert Griffin III and Peyton Manning as the most popular on eBay.
Fans who want to cash in on their Aaron Hernandez jerseys may want to move fast. The former Patriot faces life in prison if convicted of Lloyd’s murder.