Jameis Winston already was a star, but that was based on his play in college when he won the Heisman Trophy. Hard Knocks has turned Winston into an NFL star, with the Bucs quarterback the featured player on the HBO series.
Winston’s jersey sales have soared at Dick’s Sporting Goods, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. Winston now ranks 31st overall in the sporting goods store’s jersey report, rising 35 spots in one week, to move ahead of Matt Ryan, Derek Carr and Drew Brees.
Hard Knocks also has seen a jump in ratings, according to Jenna Laine of ESPN. The first episode on Aug. 8 drew 671,000 viewers, the second-highest rating the past five years behind only the Houston Texans’ 826,000 in 2015. The cumulative number of almost 3 million was up 20 percent from last year’s Los Angeles Rams’ ratings the first week.
