Johnny Cash Inspired ‘Man in Black’ Jersey Ranks Second Highest Club Jersey in 2023

Designated Players Hany Mukhtar and Walker Zimmerman Rank Second and Third in MLS’ Top-Selling Jerseys

2023 Marks Third consecutive Season Mukhtar and Zimmerman Finished in the Top 25 of Jerseys Sales in MLS

Nashville Soccer Club in conjunction with Major League Soccer announced today that its Johnny Cash inspired jersey ‘Man in Black’ is the second most sold MLS jersey in 2023. Nashville SC Designated Players Hany Mukhtar and Walker Zimmerman are second and third top-selling adidas jerseys in the league on MLSstore.com.

The ‘Man in Black’ kit, which was unveiled on Feb. 17, was designed in collaboration with the estate of Johnny Cash, Sandbox Succession, and Wasserman Music. The inspiration came as The Backline Supporters Collective, the club’s fans, unveiled their first ever MLS TIFO, featuring the Johnny Cash alongside the Nashville SC logo prior to Nashville SC’s inaugural MLS match against Atlanta United FC on Feb. 29, 2020.

The all-black ensemble is embellished by dark graphite and iron metallic accents including a jocktag of Johnny Cash’s iconic photo at Folsom Prison, Cash’s autograph on the back-of-the-neck, the Nashville SC crest, and an iron metallic Renasant Bank logo as well as an adidas logo. The left sleeve celebrates the Apple and MLS partnership by featuring the Apple TV and MLS logos, and the right sleeve features the Hyundai logo. Fans can purchase their ‘Man in Black’ jersey here.

Reigning 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar jumped from the 17^th highest selling jersey in MLS last year to second this season after a sensational campaign that saw the German earn MVP honors and the Golden Boot in a 23 goal and 11 assist season in 2022.

Mukhtar has recorded a league-high 48 goal contributions of Nashville’s 71 goals (70.4%) since the start of last season. In 2023, the German attacker is tied with Atlanta United FC’s Thiago Almada (six goals, eight assists) for the league lead in goal contributions with 14, tallying eight goals and recording six assists.

Walker Zimmerman is coming off yet another sensational campaign both for Club and Country where the defender was selected to the MLS Best XI in 2022 for the fourth consecutive year, becoming the fifth player in MLS history to accomplish that feat.

Zimmerman represented the United States in the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ in Qatar, anchoring the Stars and Stripes backline to a shutout performance against England to advance to the Round of 16. The defender appeared in all four matches for the United States in its World Cup run.

Last season, Zimmerman finished as the 10^th highest selling jersey in MLS, leaping seven spots this season to third. To begin 2023, Zimmerman anchored Nashville SC’s backline to five shutouts in the club’s first 10 matches of the season, while allowing the fewest goals in MLS this season. Zimmerman made waves on Opening Day, scoring the first goal of Nashville’s 2023 campaign against New York City FC at GEODIS Park on Feb. 25.

A full breakdown of the Top 5 2023 Top-Selling MLS Club Jerseys are listed below:

A full breakdown of the Top 25 2023 Top-Selling MLS Player Jerseys are listed below:

Nashville SC joined Major League Soccer on Feb. 29, 2020, in front of the largest attendance ever recorded for a soccer match in the State of Tennessee. In its inaugural MLS season, Nashville SC defeated expectations by becoming the second MLS expansion side to win and advance to the Conference Semifinals in the 2020 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. Nashville SC returned to the 2021 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in its sophomore season after becoming just the seventh team in MLS history to go unbeaten at home in a season. Nashville SC inaugurated GEODIS Park, the largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States and Canada, in front of a 30,109-sellout crowd on May 1, 2022. For more information, visit NashvilleSC.com and follow the club at @NashvilleSC on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Spotify.