The Miami Heat have entered a new realm with the team’s uniforms: jerseys as collectables.
Unlike the team’s previous releases of new colorways, such as the popular Vice editions, the Heat will announce Thursday that Thursday night’s debut of the team’s “Trophy Gold” uniforms will initially feature the sale of only 6,031 such jerseys, each individual numbered.
“We tried to figure out how we could make this uniform feel different and more special, because it’s representing our championships,” Heat Executive Vice President Michael McCullough said. “So we instantly thought about making it a collectable, numbering them, limiting the number, and then trying to figure out what that number would be.”
The math led the Heat’s marketing wing to 6,031, the total of the team’s three championship years, in 2006, 2012 and 2013.
The jerseys will mark the first time the Heat highlight what previously had only been gold uniform accents for the past 21 seasons.
“We felt like this is a part of our uniform story that we’ve never told,” McCullough said. “How can we tell the story in an interesting way, and use that gold color in a way that we’ve never used before?
“So all of that lends itself to looking at the campaign a little bit different, making the collectable connection. It just really felt that that’s the way we should go.”
Part of the release will be an auction of specific jerseys from the collection, signed by players involved with Heat championship teams.
In addition, per the team, “The three jerseys celebrating the Heat championships will adorn the numbers 06, 12, and 13 with Champs as the ‘name’ on the back of the jersey. The 06, 12, and 13 jerseys will each be autographed by Pat Riley, Erik Spoelstra, and Micky Arison and will feature the collectable numbers: 2006 of 6031, 2012 of 6031 and 2013 of 6031.”
The auction, part of the Heat’s revenue stream and separate from the team’s philanthropic wing, will be available at auctions.nba.com starting at 10 a.m. March 20.
The Heat will wear the jerseys Thursday, March 16 vs. the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers and March 17 on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Trophy Gold merchandise sales begin at midnight March 17 at TheMiamiHEATStore.com. Small quantities of the Trophy Gold jersey will be available at The Miami Heat Store locations at AmericanAirlines Arena, Dolphin Mall and Pembroke Lakes Mall beginning March 18.
McCullough said it is possible that an additional allotment beyond the 6,031 could eventually be available for sale, but those jerseys would not include the limited-edition individually-numbered sewn tags.
“We’re starting with the 6,031,” he said. “We may have the opportunity to get back into this jersey and offer more at a later day, but that is to be determined.”
While the gold jerseys with black accents are similar to those worn by the Indiana Pacers, McCullough cited differences.
“I would say if you’re going to make a comparison, you look at the Pittsburgh Pirates,” he said. “It’s that color. The Indiana Pacers are blue and gold. The colors are different. They’re similar and not the same. And obviously when you’re making a uniform with the NBA, you kind of go through all those things.”
The uniform — added to the 2020-21 repertoire of ViceVersa, white, black and red jerseys — is the team’s “earned” edition, an additional style granted to teams that made the playoffs the previous season, as the Heat did with their run to the 2020 NBA Finals.
McCullough said he believed there is an interest in a wide variety of jersey styles.
“If you’re going to ask me if there’s a point of oversaturation, I’m going to say no,” he said. “Because what we’re ultimately trying to do is find ways to connect with our fan base. And at some point, our fanbase may tell us, ‘You’ve reached that point.’ But I don’t anticipate that’s going to happen.”
