Custom basketball jerseys and shorts from a manufacturer in China
School and club teams order one jersey design for the whole roster and send us a list of the names and numbers to put on it. Brands selling jerseys under their label can start from a factory's current styles or have us cut a pattern of their own.
Get a quoteFifty jerseys a color
Custom (Made to Order) jerseys start at 50 a color. Sizes from YXS to 6XL can be mixed inside that 50. One run can dress a club's under-12s and its adult team. High school rules put the home team in white and visitors in a dark color. Schools that want both sets order 50 of each.
Ready-made (Stock Match) works from mesh jerseys a Chinese factory is making now. The minimum there is 50 jerseys of one style; we swap your label in and press on the numbers before they ship.
Reorders need 50 again. Leftover fabric from a dye lot we made for your team color is held for six months, which means a reorder in that window is cut from the same lot and matches the first run. Players who join mid-season are cheaper to cover with spares from the first run than with a reorder.
The uniform set
We build team colors into a jersey by sewing panels of different mesh together. Side inserts, piping and the binding around the neck and armholes can be cut from a second or third color. Necklines come crew or V. For women's teams we cut narrower shoulders and smaller armholes and shorten the body.
Reversible practice jerseys have two full mesh layers in different colors. Turned inside out, the same jersey puts a player on the other side of a scrimmage. That second layer adds weight and puts a reversible above a single-layer jersey in price.
Pick any inseam from 5 to 11 inches. Adult team shorts commonly sit at 9 inches, and youth shorts go shorter with 6–7. Whatever the length, the waistband is covered elastic with a drawcord inside. Side panels cut from the jersey's insert color turn shorts and jersey into a matched set. Pockets can go into the side seams.
Shorts are counted on their own: 50 pairs a color.
Mesh, interlock and dazzle
| Fabric | Fiber | Surface | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinhole mesh, also called bird's-eye | 100% polyester | Small, close-set holes | 135–160 gsm |
| Open-knit mesh | 100% polyester | Larger open holes | 120–140 gsm |
| Stretch mesh | 88% polyester, 12% spandex | Mesh with stretch | 150–180 gsm |
| Interlock | 100% polyester | Smooth double knit without holes | 140 gsm, or 220–280 gsm for a heavier jersey |
| Dazzle | 100% polyester | Shiny warp knit sold for basketball shorts | 160–180 gsm |
None of these fabrics needs a burn test under the US clothing flammability rule (16 CFR 1610). All-polyester fabric is exempt whatever it weighs. Stretch mesh has spandex in it, but at 150–180 gsm it falls under the exemption for plain fabric of 88 gsm or more. When we ship duty paid, we clear US customs for you and file that exemption with the entry.
Stock mesh colors cost nothing extra on Custom orders. We have the mill dye a Pantone color it doesn't stock for $80–150, which adds 5–7 days.
Names and numbers
We do names and numbers in tackle twill or DTF, which can be cut or printed one jersey at a time.
| Method | On the jersey | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tackle twill | Raised letters with a stitched edge. Heavier than any print, with up to three colors stacked | Game jerseys with the classic college look | On your quote |
| DTF transfer | Flat, thin and light. Takes full color and fine detail | Names and numbers on practice and youth jerseys, and logos with gradients | One transfer up to 11.7 × 8.3 inches is $1.50–3.50 |
| Screen print | Ink sits in the mesh and adds almost no weight | A team name or sponsor logo that's the same on every jersey | Screens cost $15–45 and are made once, one for every ink color. Printing adds $0.50–1.20 to the jersey per color and position |
| Embroidery | Stiff, raised thread | Small crests and logos, not full-size numbers | $10–75 once for the stitch file and $1–3 a thousand stitches |
US decorators commonly use 8-inch back numbers and 4-inch front numbers on adult jerseys and set the name 2½–3 inches tall above the back number.
Rule books
Most US high school games follow the rule book of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).
| Rule | High school, NFHS | College, NCAA |
|---|---|---|
| Front number | At least 4 inches tall | At least 4 inches tall |
| Back number | At least 6 inches tall | At least 6 inches tall |
| Stroke width of the digits | ¾ inch or more | 1 inch or more |
| Numbers allowed | 0 to 5, 00, and 10 to 55 using only the digits 0 to 5 | 0 to 99 |
| Maker's logo | One, up to 2¼ square inches | Up to 2¼ square inches |
For high school play, the jersey body has to be one solid color and side inserts can't be wider than 4 inches. Numbers may use up to three colors other than the jersey color. Neither rule book allows 0 and 00 on the same roster.
Tell us which rule book your league plays under when you send the roster.
Youth uniforms
Decorators often shrink youth numbers to 6 inches on the back and 3 inches on the front. School teams playing under NFHS rules can't use that front size: their front numbers need at least 4 inches at every size.
Uniforms for players 12 and under must have a Children's Product Certificate. The tests behind it have to come from a lab the US Consumer Product Safety Commission has accepted, and we send the decorated uniforms to one. The lab tests printed and heat-pressed numbers as surface coatings and checks any plastic or metal part, such as a drawcord tip, for lead in the material itself. The mesh needs no test at all. The lab's fee runs $50–250 a test, and we pass it on at cost.
On a duty-paid order we act as importer of record, meaning the company legally responsible for the import, and issue the certificate ourselves. If you import the uniforms yourself, you issue it from the lab's reports.
Youth shorts can keep a waist drawcord because federal drawstring rules for children's clothing cover jackets, sweatshirts and other upper garments. Every youth jersey and pair of shorts gets a permanent tracking label printed with the place and date of production.
Price and duty
We quote a price per jersey plus a development fee on Custom designs. The fee pays for your pattern and a first sample with two rounds of revisions. Further rounds cost $30–80 apiece, and a size range that goes past 3XL needs one of them.
Reversible jerseys and tackle twill numbers raise the price. So do sizes 4XL to 6XL, which cost 15% more on Custom orders.
US duty on jerseys made in China is 52%. That is a 32% base rate plus 20 points in Section 301 tariffs, which the US adds on many Chinese goods. Shorts start from a lower base of 28.2% and pay 48.2% in all. Names and numbers count toward the value the duty is charged on.
Jerseys for resale
Brands can test a jersey style with a Ready-made order before paying for development. The 50 jerseys come from a style a Chinese factory sells now and keep that factory's mesh and colors. We charge $0.35 a jersey to put your label in. Logo packaging adds $0.45, and hang tags with your logo are $0.25 apiece. The minimum for all three is 50 per design.
Our sourcing fee on Ready-made orders is 12% while the order's combined factory invoices stay below $5,000. Above $5,000 it drops in three steps and reaches 5% at $50,000.
Once the style sells, we can redevelop it as Custom with your changes to fit, fabric or colors. Custom prices include your woven label and logo packaging.
You get a Launch Kit for every jersey style you order. It's built from our inspection shots of your finished jerseys: five clean listing photos, a picture of the jersey on an AI-generated player and a vertical clip 10 seconds long. The photos are taken before the jerseys ship, which lets a brand list a new style while the boxes are still in transit.
Timing for the season
| Order | Days to US delivery |
|---|---|
| Ready-made, sent by express | 11–18 from your order |
| First Custom order, sent by air freight | 31–48 from your order |
| Reorder of an approved Custom style | 21–30 |
| Mesh dyed to your team color | 5–7 more |
| DTF names and numbers | 3–5 more |
| Tackle twill names and numbers | Given with your quote |
| Embroidered crest or logo | 5–10 more |
| Screen-printed team name | 7–14 more |
| Another sample revision | 8–13 more |
The Custom days count on the first sample being approved without changes. Add the dyeing and decoration days to the route when you count back from your first game.
Show us one photo of a jersey close to yours. Within 24 hours you'll have our Ready-made and Custom prices side by side.
Get a quote