NFL draft suits give prospects another way to cash in on their fame, flash their style on red carpet

DETROIT — Drake Maye planned to wear a custom suit for the NFL draft.

Hugo Boss gave the former North Carolina quarterback an offer he couldn't refuse.

The clothing company, based in Germany and famed for its stylish fashion, paid Maye last year to make a late switch and wear one of its gray suits.

Maye accepted the inducement, walking the red carpet in Detroit in a simple Hugo Boss jacket and trousers. He saved his fancy threads for the next day.

When Maye walked off a private plane and was whisked away for his introductory news conference as the New England Patriots' No. 3 pick overall, he was sporting the light khaki suit with Carolina blue embellishments that was designed and crafted for him to show off the previous night.

Pantheon Limited founder Ethan Weisman and Baynes + Baker co-founder Ravi Punn teamed up to put Maye in the suit he ended up wearing in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the day after the draft.

''Sometime players get six figures to wear a suit because the NFL draft is like the Oscars of sports,'' Punn said in an interview with The Associated Press. ''The suits are seen for a few hours before the draft, during the draft, the next day when outfits are getting graded — and forever online with social media.''

A year later, Weisman simply shrugged his shoulders over Maye's audible in the Motor City.

''There were no hard feelings because agents are simply doing their job when they're trying to work deals for their clients," Weisman told the AP. ''And, there were a lot of pictures of him in our suit.''

Weisman expects some first-round picks to wear his suits Thursday night in Green Bay, several more while they watch the draft from home and even a few broadcasters, including ESPN's Mike Greenberg.

He has learned, however, not to celebrate too early.

''Green Bay is a pain to get to and I would love to not go there, but you have to build the relationship and make sure no one else is going to steal them,'' Weisman said in a telephone interview earlier this week. "In the back of my mind I know anything can happen, so I won't know for sure what they're wearing until they are on the red carpet.

''I'm also going to bring extra suits just in case I run into a player and show him something that he thinks looks cooler than his own suit.''

Punn said Hugo Boss is ''at the top of food chain,'' in the competition among clothiers to entice first-round prospects to wear their suits.

''They pay a lot for that and small shops can't and I don't blame the players or the agents for taking advantage of that," said Punn, who has made suits for NFL draft prospects since 2018. ''If someone is paying you and your job is to help your client make money, you do that deal.''

Punn, who had some promising leads with prospects that didn't pan out this year, expects Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart to wear one of his suits that includes a jacket with photos he provided on the lining.

Weisman has not paid NFL draft prospects to wear his suits over the last decade, but does give them one for free to wear on their big night to help build his brand and to potentially cultivate a long-term relationship with clients who may want to buy more for up to $5,000 each.

Country music star Jelly Roll recently rocked one of Weisman's custom-made suits at the ''Saturday Night Live'' 50th anniversary celebration with nearly 15 million viewers. Ezekiel Elliott took one of Weisman's ideas and ran with it, unforgettably appearing in a crop top that exposed his stomach on the red carpet in 2016 before Dallas drafted the former Ohio State running back.

State and Liberty, a clothing company created for customers with an athletic build, got into the pay-to-play game at the NFL draft for the first time this year to help seal the deal with Penn State tight end Tyler Warren.

''We had a lot of agents reach out to us with really big offers and we passed on a lot of them,'' State and Liberty co-founder Lee Moffie told the AP. ''We made the decision that it's not worth paying six figures — or even $50,000 — just to get a couple pictures of a guy in a suit.

''It's definitely a quick money grab for them. It didn't used to be like this, but I think NIL has made a big impact because they're all trying to monetize wherever and however they can as fast as they can.''

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl