The Giants quarterback and his pop star wife, Ciara, are cofounders of 3BRAND, which is finding success selling moisture-wicking shirts to children despite a dogpile of challenges in the retail market.
Russell Wilson has made a career on defying expectations. Shrugging off a slide to the third round of the 2012 NFL draft over concerns about his size, the 5-foot-11 quarterback led the Seattle Seahawks to eight playoff appearances in nine seasons and the franchise’s only Super Bowl win. Even now, in his 14th pro season, the ten-time Pro Bowler is still trying to prove himself, playing on a one-year contract with the New York Giants and facing calls from fans to give up his starting spot to rookie Jaxson Dart—despite leading the league in passing yards through two games, with 618.
So while any ordinary entrepreneur might quiver at the thought of trying to break into sports apparel—an industry dominated by a handful of global heavyweights with billions in revenue and a decades-long head-start—the 36-year-old Wilson is used to being the underdog. And quietly, as a cofounder of 3BRAND, he has built a company that surpassed $100 million in sales in 2024, and more than $70 million in the first half of 2025, selling workout clothes in children’s sizes.
The business is one of many for Wilson, who tied for No. 49 on Forbes’ 2025 list of the world’s highest-paid athletes, with $53.6 million in pretax earnings over the 12 months ending in May. That income includes an estimated $6 million off the field, from licensing, memorabilia and more than a dozen endorsement deals, as well as cash returns from a thick portfolio of companies he has founded or invested in.
Wilson is behind West2East Empire, which offers production services for TV commercials and other media, and Why Not You Productions, which develops scripted series and films. In 2018, he and his older brother, Harry, founded Limitless Minds, an app that aims to improve users’ “mental conditioning” through life-coaching sessions and learning exercises. Meanwhile, Wilson sells shoes and clothing through Good Man Brand and fragrances through R&C—standing for Russell and Ciara, his Grammy Award-winning wife.
Now suiting up for the New York Giants, Russell Wilson sees parallels between his play on the field and his business philosophy, saying, “If the receiver isn’t there, you have to create that space.”
Adrian Kraus/Associated Press
“I’ve always liked fashion, but I grew up wearing sports clothes and going to school in polos and khakis,” Wilson tells Forbes. “When I got into the NFL, I was single and trying to date a girl way out of my league in Ciara. I realized I had to level up my dress game.”
Ciara was also Wilson’s cofounder in 3BRAND, and was by his side at their Los Angeles home five years ago when he came up with the idea. As he watched their son Future scurry across the room with a football tucked under his arm—the day before the birth of their son Win—Wilson thought of himself as a boy and decided he wanted to create something for children. He hand-drew the brand’s logo—which transforms his initials into a lightning bolt, to symbolize momentum—and they settled on the name 3BRAND to reflect how sports, music and fashion can inspire the mind, body and soul.
“A lot of the things that Ciara and I accomplished, we wrote them out as kids and had people who believed in us,” Wilson says. “But as a young kid, you ultimately have to believe in you. It’s about motivating the next generation.”
The clothing line debuted with a 40-piece collection in June 2021 and expanded its lineup two months later. Today, 3BRAND has more than 100 items available on its website, including moisture-wicking shirts and athletic shorts in sizes ranging from 4T (for toddlers) to children’s extra large. Prices range from $20 for T-shirts to $65 for hoodies—all manufactured in partnership with Haddad Brands—and while a collaboration with Wilson’s longtime sponsor Nike has sent 3BRAND beyond sportswear and into accessories such as backpacks, duffel bags and hats, apparel still represents around 75% of the company’s product line.
Prioritizing accessibility, 3BRAND is leaning hard into online distribution, selling its items not only on its own website but also through the digital portals at Macy’s, JCPenney and off-price retailers such as Nordstrom Rack. The company is present in 150 Dick’s Sporting Goods stores as well, with 3BRAND advisor Dave McTague, a former executive at Cole Haan, Liz Claiborne, Converse and Tommy Hilfiger and a cofounder of accelerator Prosper Brands, saying physical retail is a meaningful new initiative.
“There is a true methodology and strategy behind the stacking effect of product marketing and distribution partners,” McTague says. “Then you have someone like Russell Wilson who is up at 4 o’clock in the morning working out and taking the kids to school—it’s hard not to have great energy around it.”
Wilson credits Christine Day—who spent six years as Lululemon’s CEO and cofounded his House of LR&C, the company behind Good Man Brand—with teaching him the fashion business. He’s now putting that knowledge to work, with a touch of his own creativity. For instance, 3BRAND wants to sell itself to parents as a quality product that can become a hand-me-down for younger siblings.
“Why can’t a child have a cool T-shirt that isn’t $80?” McTague says. “The DNA behind the product design and distribution has access in mind. We have a niche because of how we’re approaching the market, the product we’re delivering and the partners we have.”
Purpose alone won’t guarantee survival in the cutthroat sportswear market, however. Sales of sporting goods fell 0.4% over the past year, and the category’s projected growth of 2.1% for 2025 barely outpaces inflation, notes Zak Stambor, senior retail and e-commerce analyst at research firm Emarketer. President Donald Trump’s escalating tariff wars, and a resulting $1.9 billion tax increase on clothing and shoes, are squeezing margins, and the weakening labor market and a decline in consumer confidence are adding to the challenging macroeconomic picture.
Those pressures are even more daunting for new entrants, who have to contend with Nike (and its $46.3 billion in fiscal-year 2025 revenue) and Adidas (more than $25 billion in 2024, at that year’s average exchange rate). Even companies like Lululemon and Under Armour—which trail well behind the two market leaders, posting revenue of $10.6 billion and $5.2 billion, respectively, in the most recent full-year reporting period—have a huge leg up on 3BRAND.
“The sporting goods category is a tough place to play,” says Stambor, the Emarketer analyst. “The winners are going to be those who have good relationships and a solid brand positioning. And that can either be based on the legacy of the brand or personality.”
Wilson and 3BRAND are banking on both, with his fame and the Nike collaboration adding credibility. But the company also stresses the importance of innovation in a tough market—for example, creating children’s attire that would be appropriate on a golf course, a category that has been underserved even as the sport’s participation has surged.
“You have to be able to look at it, see what it is and adapt,” says Charly Martin, Wilson’s longtime friend and business partner, who serves as president of West2East Empire, the production company. “Anytime you’re building a business, you’re not going to hit that grand slam in Month 2, Year 2. It’s a very thoughtful plan that we laid out over a course of time.”
As it looks to the future, 3BRAND sees opportunity in international markets, now targeting Europe and Latin America after finding early success in Japan and South Korea. Wilson, whose vision is to broaden the brand’s global footprint through strategic collaborations, is also considering expanding the product line to adults.
That could be a tough tightrope for Wilson to walk as he seeks to maintain a focus on the children’s market, but his personal philosophy is all about thinking beyond established rules. Just as he has spent his career disproving the notion that a 5-11 quarterback can’t succeed in the NFL, he wants to remind kids that limitations are often nothing more than perceptions, and that creativity is necessary to pave your own way.
“I think about how I play—a lot of it is organized, but if the receiver isn’t there, you have to create that space,” Wilson says. “It was established early on that when life is hard, you create.”
More From Forbes
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/sofiachierchio/2025/09/20/nfl-star-russell-wilson-has-sewn-up-100-million-in-sales-making-sportswear-for-kids/
