A vendor sells counterfeit Spurs gear in a store parking lot. Credit: Facebook / Edward Flores

Sales of bootleg San Antonio Spurs merchandise cost the team $13.6 million in lost revenue annually, according to a new research report from online sportsbook Duelbits.

In the current playoff run, fans have taken to online marketplaces to hawk homemade items, including Silver and Black luchador masks, Spurs-themed jewelry and cutting boards emblazoned with the team logo. For that matter, it’s also hard to drive down some SA thoroughfares without seeing roadside tents selling anything from Victor Wembanyama jerseys to “Crazy Hispanic Fan” hats and T-shirts.

“With the current financial situation many people are living through, it’s not surprising that NBA fans are looking at cheaper alternatives to the $80 official replica,” Duelbits said in a statement about its report. “These figures should set off alarm bells at NBA headquarters as the league cannot justify allowing this amount of money to be basically stolen from them each year.”

For its part, the San Antonio Spurs franchise has lost an estimated $7.2 million in merchandise revenue and another $6.4 million in jersey sales due to counterfeit products this year alone, researchers found.

That’s the league’s sixth-highest amount of lost revenue due to counterfeit products, according to the study.

Duelbits compiled its data by analyzing search volume metrics worldwide for team jerseys, retro player jerseys and other team merchandise for every NBA team over the past year. The online sportsbook then compared those figures against merchandise costs to estimate potential revenue generated from sales.

“The $13.6 million that the San Antonio Spurs lose out on each year could seriously affect their playing budget; it could be the difference in them becoming NBA champions again in the future,” Duelbits added in its statement.

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Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...