NFL draft suits give prospects another way to cash in on their fame, flash their style on red carpet

DETROIT (AP) — Drake Maye planned to wear a custom suit for the NFL draft.

Hugo Boss gave the former North Carolina quarterback an offer he couldn't refuse.

The clothing company, based in Germany and famed for its stylish fashion, paid Maye last year to make a late switch and wear one of its gray suits.

Maye accepted the inducement, walking the red carpet in Detroit in a simple Hugo Boss jacket and trousers. He saved his fancy threads for the next day.

When Maye walked off a private plane and was whisked away for his introductory news conference as the New England Patriots' No. 3 pick overall, he was sporting the light khaki suit with Carolina blue embellishments that was designed and crafted for him to show off the previous night.

Pantheon Limited founder Ethan Weisman and Baynes + Baker co-founder Ravi Punn teamed up to put Maye in the suit he ended up wearing in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the day after the draft.

“Sometime players get six figures to wear a suit because the NFL draft is like the Oscars of sports,” Punn said in an interview with The Associated Press. “The suits are seen for a few hours before the draft, during the draft, the next day when outfits are getting graded — and forever online with social media.”

A year later, Weisman simply shrugged his shoulders over Maye’s audible in the Motor City.

“There were no hard feelings because agents are simply doing their job when they’re trying to work deals for their clients," Weisman told the AP. “And, there were a lot of pictures of him in our suit.”

Weisman expects some first-round picks to wear his suits Thursday night in Green Bay, several more while they watch the draft from home and even a few broadcasters, including ESPN’s Mike Greenberg.

He has learned, however, not to celebrate too early.

“Green Bay is a pain to get to and I would love to not go there, but you have to build the relationship and make sure no one else is going to steal them,” Weisman said in a telephone interview earlier this week. "In the back of my mind I know anything can happen, so I won't know for sure what they're wearing until they are on the red carpet.

“I'm also going to bring extra suits just in case I run into a player and show him something that he thinks looks cooler than his own suit.”

Punn said Hugo Boss is “at the top of food chain,” in the competition among clothiers to entice first-round prospects to wear their suits.

“They pay a lot for that and small shops can't and I don't blame the players or the agents for taking advantage of that," said Punn, who has made suits for NFL draft prospects since 2018. “If someone is paying you and your job is to help your client make money, you do that deal.”

Punn, who had some promising leads with prospects that didn't pan out this year, expects Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart to wear one of his suits that includes a jacket with photos he provided on the lining.

Weisman has not paid NFL draft prospects to wear his suits over the last decade, but does give them one for free to wear on their big night to help build his brand and to potentially cultivate a long-term relationship with clients who may want to buy more for up to $5,000 each.

Country music star Jelly Roll recently rocked one of Weisman's custom-made suits at the “Saturday Night Live” 50th anniversary celebration with nearly 15 million viewers. Ezekiel Elliott took one of Weisman's ideas and ran with it, unforgettably appearing in a crop top that exposed his stomach on the red carpet in 2016 before Dallas drafted the former Ohio State running back.

State and Liberty, a clothing company created for customers with an athletic build, got into the pay-to-play game at the NFL draft for the first time this year to help seal the deal with Penn State tight end Tyler Warren.

“We had a lot of agents reach out to us with really big offers and we passed on a lot of them,” State and Liberty co-founder Lee Moffie told the AP. “We made the decision that it's not worth paying six figures — or even $50,000 — just to get a couple pictures of a guy in a suit.

“It's definitely a quick money grab for them. It didn't used to be like this, but I think NIL has made a big impact because they're all trying to monetize wherever and however they can as fast as they can.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart tries on a suit from designer Baynes + Baker ahead of the NFL Draft, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart tries on a suit from designer Baynes + Baker ahead of the NFL Draft, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart tries on a suit from designer Baynes + Baker ahead of the NFL Draft, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart tries on a suit from designer Baynes + Baker ahead of the NFL Draft, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart tries on a suit from designer Baynes + Baker ahead of the NFL Draft, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart tries on a suit from designer Baynes + Baker ahead of the NFL Draft, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart tries on a suit from designer Baynes + Baker ahead of the NFL Draft, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

FILE - Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott poses for photos upon arriving for the first round of the NFL football draft April 28, 2016, in Chicago. Elliott stunned on the red carpet when he unbuttoned his suit jacket to reveal his bare, toned abs, raising the bar for draft night fashion surprises. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

FILE - North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye poses on the red carpet ahead of the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

FILE - New England Patriots first round draft pick Drake Maye, a quarterback out of North Carolina, walks on the field during an NFL football press conference, Friday, April 26, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

LONDON (AP) — Protests over the soaring cost of fuel spread disruption across Ireland on Saturday with many gas stations running dry as truck and tractor drivers staged a fifth day of blockades at the country's sole fuel refinery and several depots.

Vehicles blocking traffic led to closures of the main highway around the capital, Dublin, as well as six other major roadways.

More than a third of the 1,500 service stations in the republic are out of fuel and that number is expected to grow dramatically if the roadblocks remain, Fuels for Ireland chief executive Kevin McPartlan said.

Irish police put all its officers on notice they could be called to duty over the weekend and the military was on standby to help remove the vehicles as the government was due to renew talks Saturday to resolve the dispute.

Frustration over the soaring cost of fuel led to the protests that began Tuesday and have continued to grow as word spread on social media.

Government officials, who had already introduced measures to ease the burden of price rises, have been baffled over the rationale behind the protests because the price spike is global and due to the conflict in the Middle East that has restricted oil exports.

Prime Minister Micheál Martin said Friday that the country was on the brink of turning tankers away during a global shortage and was in jeopardy of losing its oil supply.

“It is unconscionable, it’s illogical, it is difficult to comprehend,” Martin told the national broadcaster RTE.

Truckers, farmers, and taxi and bus operators are among those who have staged the blockages and called for caps in fuel prices or cuts to excise or carbon taxes.

The government approved a range of measures two weeks ago to cut fuel prices, including a temporary reduction in excise taxes on motor fuels, expansion of a rebate for truckers and bus operators that use diesel fuel, and extension of a program that helps low-income people with their heating costs.

But those reductions were quickly overtaken as international prices continued to rise.

Protests began with slow-moving convoys that restricted access to some of the busiest streets in Dublin and blocked fuel depots that supply half the country. Some protesters slept in their vehicles overnight, demanding that the government speak with them.

Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said Thursday that outsiders were manipulating the demonstrators to advance their own agendas or “really want to damage our country.”

A man crosses a road where vehicles are parked on O'Connell Street, on the second day of a national fuel protest against rising fuel prices, in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday April 8, 2026. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

A man walks in between vehicles parked on O'Connell Street on the second day of a national fuel protest against rising fuel prices, in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday April 8, 2026. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)