How much do football uniforms, equipment cost? Butler County ADs break down the numbers, challenges
The average lifespan of a high school football uniform is five years. The average cost, including the jersey tops and pants, runs about $200 per set.
The Butler Eagle polled several county high schools about uniform expenses and found different schools pay different prices, but all face similar challenges.
“I’ve seen them grow every year, the cost is more,” Butler athletic director Bill Mylan said.
Among a sample of four football teams — Butler, Mars, Moniteau and Union/A-C Valley — the cost of equipping high school players ranged from $180 ($110 for jerseys and $70 for pants) at Butler, to $225 ($155 for jerseys, $70 for pants) at Moniteau.
The Warriors and Union/A-C Valley got new uniforms ahead of the 2025 season. Mars purchased navy pants and jerseys in 2024 for $20,500, giving them a navy home jersey, white away jersey and navy, gold and white pants.
That does not include the costs of pads, helmets and other equipment.
A new helmet typically costs over $300, sometimes significantly more depending on the model. Shoulder pads can go for $200-250, according to Mylan.
Athletic departments send in every helmet for yearly repairs and maintenance, at a cost of about $30-70 per helmet for those that need refurbishing. Any helmets that do not pass are replaced with a new helmet. Shoulder pads also require reconditioning, at $14 per set in Moniteau’s case.
Football teams can cost the most to outfit at many schools, simply because the roster sizes are generally larger than other sports at the school and there is more equipment (helmets, shoulder pads, leg pads).
Mylan said he recently completed a purchase for new track and field uniforms; Butler’s co-ed track team roster is larger than the football team.
Union AD Scott Kindel estimated football costs can be about double some other sports — the girls volleyball team (Union and A-C Valley run separate teams) was outfitted recently for $4,987, and he estimated the basketball team costs around $6,500.
Those costs have only gone up over the years — due to typical pre-pandemic inflation, then because of rising costs during the pandemic and with accelerated inflation since. Kindel said the biggest cost increase has been shipping. Where once he’d get free shipping for orders of a certain size, he doesn’t see that often anymore.
“The cost of equipment has gone up, but it’s kind of proportional to everything else,” he said.
Moniteau AD Dylan Beachem said he purchased new football uniforms during a buy-one-get-one-free offer for the pants from the vendor, halving the cost from $139 apiece.
The process of ordering uniforms takes typically about two to four months, according to local athletic directors — from reaching out to vendors for price estimates; to picking a design, sometimes with significant input from the coach; to getting district approval and finally placing the order.
“What was really tough was during COVID,” Mylan said, when he had to place orders as much as eight months before a season because of supply-chain issues.
Managing budgets and planning expenses for all sports is a significant part of an athletic director’s job. Mylan said it can take up about 30 to 40% of his time; Beachem and Kindel said it varies depending on the time of year, from as little as 10% in the middle of the fall season to significantly more in the early spring when districts are planning their budgets for the upcoming school year.
“At the beginning of each sport season, probably a month before the season starts, you’re focused on the budgetary parts because you’re ordering stuff for the season,” Kindel said.
Having a good district business department or manager helps alleviate the workload, Mylan and Kindel said.
Kindel also is in a unique position compared to the county’s other school districts, having to coordinate with counterpart Dave Sherman at A-C Valley and work with two school boards. Union and A-C Valley cover costs for co-op sports equally, with the “host” school — Union in the case of football — placing the equipment/uniform orders for that sport.
“Both (school boards) are really good about moving things along,” Kindel said.
Uniforms and player equipment are considered necessities in many athletic department budgets. They can last for a few years before needing to be replaced and are relatively consistent costs. But rising prices in an athletic budget and school district’s budget mean ADs make decisions on needs and wants.
“Everything’s creeping up, some things faster than others,” Beachem said, adding uniforms are “kind of hard to negotiate,” so he’ll find other opportunities to save such as bulk ordering equipment like golf balls or other items.
“Obviously, the trickle-down is going to affect across the district, not just athletics,” Mylan said.
