An NFL jersey is built to be worn over something else — a t-shirt on a warm Sunday, a hoodie in December. That is why it is cut wide through the body, why the hem stops at the hip, and why the sleeve ends just above the elbow. Here is how the sizing actually runs, with the charts we use.
The short answer
Football is a wide, boxy cut. Order your true chest size — the roominess is already built in.
- Chest across, under the arms, decides your size. Not your height, and not the size you wear in another sport.
- Do not size up by default. NFL is already the second-loftiest cut we carry. Size up only for a deliberately oversized look or to layer a hoodie.
- Between two sizes, take the larger one. Adjacent sizes differ by roughly 2–3 inches across the chest.
- Youth is charted on age, height and chest together — when height and chest point to different rows, follow height.
Why the football cut is so wide
Start hereThe football jersey has barely changed shape in fifty years, and it was never designed as a fitted garment. It was designed to be a layer. The body is cut wide through the chest and straight down to the hip rather than tapered, the shoulder sits low and unstructured, and the sleeve is finished just above the elbow so nothing catches on the arm.
The practical consequence is that a football jersey is not meant to skim your torso. If it hugs your chest and the sleeves reach your wrist, you are one or two sizes down from the intended fit — not wearing a trimmer jersey. That is the single most common sizing mistake we see with NFL orders.
Compare it with the other leagues and the difference is obvious: a hockey sweater is looser still because it has to go over pads, a basketball jersey is standard through the chest but runs far longer, and a soccer shirt is cut close enough to read as a different garment in the same letter size.
How to measure yourself in two minutes
Do this onceYou need a soft tape and one jersey you already like the fit of. Measure the garment flat rather than your body — it is faster, and it captures how you like things to sit rather than just a number.
- Chest — the one that decides your size. Lay the jersey flat, smooth it out, and measure straight across from one underarm seam to the other. Double that number. That is the flat chest measurement.
- Body length. From the highest point of the shoulder straight down to the bottom hem. On a football jersey this lands at the hip.
- Sleeve. From the shoulder seam along the outside of the sleeve to the opening. Football sleeves should finish above the elbow, not at the wrist.
- Waist (jerseys are straight-cut, but check it). Measure the bottom hem flat and double it if you want to be sure the jersey will clear your hips comfortably.
- Compare, do not convert. Write your chest number down, find that band in the chart below, and order that size.
Lay the jersey flat, not on yourself. Measuring a garment you already like captures your size and your fit preference in one number, and it removes the difference between a snug measurement and a relaxed one.
Men’s NFL jerseys
Chest decidesThis is the chart to use for a standard unisex football jersey. Read across from your chest measurement: the Chest band is the deciding column, and the length and sleeve columns tell you how the garment will hang once the size is right.
| Size | Chest (in) | Chest (cm) | Waist (in) | Length (in) | Length (cm) | Sleeve (in) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | 35–38 | 89–97 | 29–32 | 29 | 74 | 17.5 |
| M | 38–41 | 97–104 | 32–35 | 30 | 76 | 18.5 |
| L | 41–44 | 104–112 | 35–38 | 31 | 79 | 19.5 |
| XL | 44–48 | 112–122 | 38–43 | 32 | 81 | 20.5 |
| 2XL | 48–53 | 122–135 | 43–48 | 33 | 84 | 21.5 |
| 3XL | 53–58 | 135–147 | 48–53 | 34 | 86 | 22.5 |
| 4XL | 58–63 | 147–160 | 53–58 | 35 | 89 | 23.5 |
Two notes on reading it. The chest figure is the garment measurement, not your body measurement — a size L jersey measuring 42–45 inches across is built for a chest in the high thirties to low forties. And the length column is deliberately short: if you are tall and wear a jersey tucked over jeans, the hem will sit at the hip and that is the intended look, not a sizing error.
Women’s NFL jerseys
Own block, shorter bodyWomen’s football jerseys are cut on a separate block, not scaled down from the men’s pattern. The shoulder is narrower, the waist is gently shaped rather than straight, and the body is shorter by a couple of inches.
| Size | Chest (in) | Chest (cm) | Waist (in) | Length (in) | Length (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XS | 31–33 | 79–84 | 25–26 | 26 | 66 |
| S | 33–35 | 84–89 | 26–28 | 27 | 69 |
| M | 35–38 | 89–97 | 28–31 | 27.5 | 70 |
| L | 38–41 | 97–104 | 31–34 | 28 | 71 |
| XL | 41–44 | 104–112 | 34–37 | 28.5 | 72 |
| 2XL | 44–47 | 112–119 | 37–40 | 29 | 74 |
If you want a longer body or a roomier fit than the women’s block gives you, the right move is to take the men’s size closest to your chest measurement rather than going up a size in the women’s cut. Sizing up inside the women’s block widens the garment everywhere at once, which changes the shape rather than just the length.
Youth NFL jerseys
Age, height and chestYouth sizing is charted on three dimensions at once, which is what makes it feel fiddly. Age is a rough guide only — a tall nine-year-old and a shorter twelve-year-old can wear the same jersey.
| Size | Ages | Chest (in) | Chest (cm) | Height (in) | Height (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | 7–8 | 26–27 | 66–69 | 50–54 | 127–137 |
| M | 9–12 | 28–30 | 71–76 | 55–60 | 140–152 |
| L | 13–15 | 31–33 | 79–84 | 61–63 | 155–160 |
| XL | 16–18 | 34–36 | 86–91 | 64–67 | 163–170 |
When height and chest point to different rows, follow height. Kids grow upward faster than they fill out, and a football jersey is forgiving across the chest in a way it is not across the shoulder. As a rule of thumb, a teenager who has outgrown the largest youth size moves to the smallest men’s size, which is cut longer rather than dramatically wider.
Layering over a hoodie
Game-day fitMost people who get the size wrong on a football jersey get it wrong because they change what they wear underneath it. The jersey is cut for a bare tee in September; by November the same body is in a hoodie.
| Size | Chest (in) | Chest (cm) | Waist (in) | Length (in) | Length (cm) | Sleeve (in) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | 35–38 | 89–97 | 29–32 | 26–27 | 66–69 | 33.5 |
| M | 38–41 | 97–104 | 32–35 | 27–28 | 69–71 | 34.5 |
| L | 41–44 | 104–112 | 35–38 | 28–29 | 71–74 | 35.5 |
| XL | 44–48 | 112–122 | 38–43 | 29–30 | 74–76 | 36.5 |
| 2XL | 48–53 | 122–135 | 43–48 | 30–31 | 76–79 | 37.5 |
| 3XL | 53–58 | 135–147 | 48–53 | 31–32 | 79–81 | 38.5 |
Two ways to handle it: either keep your normal jersey size and accept a snugger look over a thin hoodie, or size up one step on the jersey if you know you will layer a thick one all season. Do not size down on the hoodie to make it fit under the jersey — the hoodie is the piece doing the actual insulating.
Sizing questions we get most
Should I size up for an NFL jersey?
No — not for the cut. Football jerseys are already the boxiest fit we carry, and a new jersey needs nothing added to it. Size up only if you specifically want an oversized look, or if you plan to wear a thick hoodie underneath it all season.
I wear a certain size in soccer. Is that my NFL size?
Probably yes on the chart and no in the mirror. The letters map to chest bands fairly consistently, but a football jersey is cut far wider through the body and shorter in the hem than a soccer shirt of the same letter. If you want the football jersey to feel like your soccer shirt feels, go down a size; if you want the intended football fit, keep the letter your chest puts you in.
My chest measurement falls between two sizes. Which one do I take?
Take the larger one. Football jerseys are not tailored, and the gap between adjacent sizes is roughly 2–3 inches across the chest. Going up leaves you room to move; going down gives you a fitted shirt you cannot loosen later.
Youth XL or the smallest men’s size for a teenager?
Follow height. Youth XL tops out around a young teenager’s height, and the men’s small is cut longer rather than much wider. If the teenager is at the top of the youth height band and still growing, the men’s small in a boxy football cut will serve longer.
Will the jersey shrink in the wash?
The fabrics we carry are pre-shrunk, so expect the fit you ordered out of the bag and after twenty washes. Wash cold, inside out, and keep it out of a hot dryer — heat is what distorts printed numbers and lettering, not the first wash.
What if the size is still wrong when it arrives?
Send it back. We accept returns within 30 days of delivery with the tags attached and the jersey unworn. Start the return from your order confirmation email and we will take it from there. Full details are on our Returns & Exchanges page.
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Charts are measured flat across the garment and are intended as a guide. Fabrics, trims and sewers can shift a measurement by up to half an inch between production runs, so treat the nearest band as the right one.
