There is a smile on the face of Justin Jefferson as I suggest the reason his jersey might be only the second-best selling among British NFL fans.
Number one? That would be Travis Kelce. Even the league’s very best can’t fight the Taylor Swift factor.
Jefferson is personal brand conscious. “It definitely matters!” he says with incredulity, when asked whether popularity in the UK is really that important to a man who is already one of the best-paid and most revered sportsmen in the US.
“It’s a whole different fanbase that’s not around football, doesn’t have football in their country. So to have my jersey [selling that well] is pretty special.”
Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings are back in London this weekend, taking on the New York Jets at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, two years after they beat the New Orleans Saints at the same ground in a game memorable for the receiver’s near-150-yard show.
“It was a trip to remember,” he says. “The experience of being in London for the first time, playing there for the first time, interacting with London fans and seeing a whole different culture and whole different vibe. It was a great experience.”
Jefferson is determined to explore a little more of the city beyond the football this time around but stresses, in what has become familiar parlance among visiting players, that this is first and foremost a “business trip”. And for the Vikings, business so far this season has been booming - Sunday’s victory at the Green Bay Packers taking their perfect start to 4-0.
External expectations were low coming into the year after Kirk Cousins left for the Atlanta Falcons, leaving Jefferson to work with a new quarterback for the first time in his NFL career.
“Everyone has their doubts or concerns, just questions about how the season would go with a new quarterback and a new system,” he admits.
Playing with Cousins, Jefferson registered more receiving yards through his first four seasons in the league than any player in NFL history, and that despite missing more than half of last year through injury.
“There are definitely concerns in the back of your mind, but then your preparation helps those concerns. You practice, you work with your quarterback to build that connection and that chemistry. It’s not overnight where you’re suddenly just best of friends and know everything about each other.”
The quarterback in question is Sam Darnold. Taken by the Jets with the No3 pick in the 2018 draft, Darnold’s NFL career had still not taken off six years later when he signed for the Vikings this summer.
Even then, he was not certain to play, until rookie JJ McCarthy suffered what Jefferson calls a “heartbreaking” knee injury in pre-season. Going into Sunday’s meeting with his former side, though, Darnold is unbeaten and jointly leads the league in touchdown passes.
“No, it’s not really a surprise,” Jefferson insists, when asked if internal expectations, too, have been exceeded. “But going out there on a Sunday and actually doing it, actually putting up the numbers and scoring touchdowns, that’s something that’s a conversation in itself.
Being in London, playing there for the first time, interacting with London fans and seeing a whole different culture... it was a great experience
“Seeing his work ethic on the practice field, his ability to connect with different players - he’s the leader of our team.”
Jefferson’s own off-season was headlined by the signing of a new contract worth $35million per season, the most lucrative deal of any non-quarterback in the NFL.
That contract spoke to the dominance of the passing game in the league over recent seasons, but so far this term there has been a dramatic shift towards run-heavy offenses.
“It is what it is,” says Jefferson. “The running back market has been a lot lower than the receiver market recently so I’m glad the running backs are getting their exposure. They’ve definitely been undervalued this past year or two. It’s great to see them explode.”
On Saturday October 5th, the Minnesota Vikings are hosting a fully immersive American football takeover at Outernet London to honour their loyal UK following while introducing the franchise to a host of new fans. To find out more about the event visit the teams social platforms @UKVikings on X, @uk_vikings on Instagram & @Vikings on TikTok.
