It didn’t even take until game’s end for “Bakermania” to launch for the Cleveland Browns.
With a couple minutes to go, after rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield guided the Browns to a 21-17 lead over the New York Jets, the ticket orders started pouring in.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Cleveland ticket broker Mark Klang of Amazing Tickets. “It was like what it was the night Johnny [Manziel] got drafted. Except then, it went on for 30 minutes. This was still going two hours after the game ended. And not just for the next home game. For all games.”
At Fanatics headquarters, the same was seen in jersey sales. From halftime until midnight, Mayfield became the day’s best-selling NFL jersey. In fact, Fanatics officials say Mayfield sold more jerseys in those two hours than Khalil Mack and Tom Brady — the top two sellers — had combined for the entire day.
And since Manziel is the sales barometer for a Browns player who at least had success in the stores, Mayfield one-upped Manziel as well. In the first 14 hours after replacing Browns starter Tyrod Taylor, Fanatics says he sold more jerseys than Manziel did on draft day and the day after.
On Twitter, Mayfield helping end the Browns’ 19-game winless streak made him the most relevant athlete by a large margin.
A Twitter official said Mayfield was the most mentioned athlete Thursday night, with five times more mentions than the next most relevant athletes, LeBron James and Conor McGregor.
Mayfield also gained 67,000 followers on Instagram since he entered the game in the second quarter.