Who Else Wants a Free NFL Jersey?

There's no shortage of sites on the Internet offering free stuff - NFL jerseys, Apple iPods, etc.  And all they ask for is your email address.  Are these offers real or a sham?  Can you really get a free NFL jersey in exchange for an email address?  The short answer is yes, but the complete answer is a little more complex.

These are definitely legitimate offers.  A free NFL jersey or Apple iPod could be just an email away.  Keep in mind that these are products that can't be delivered electronically.  So after you provide an email address, you're going to have to provide a physical shipping address.  You'll be asked to provide your home address.  When a free NFL jersey is at stake, most football fans are happy to provide a home address.

As you might expect, each offer is slightly different.  Generally, you're going to be shown dozens of offers and asked if you have any interest in them.  You'll see all kinds of offers from magazines to insurance to colleges.  You'll start receiving emails as soon as you show interest in any product or service offered.  Don't forget your email address is already on file.

You may be wondering if you can get around this by providing a false email address.  Don't hold your breath for a free NFL jersey if you do this.  You have to agree to a certain number of offers and complete certain requirements before you'll receive your free NFL jersey.  The requirements differ for each offer.  But if you provide an email address and the messages sent to it come back undeliverable, it's not difficult to figure out you're being untruthful and you won't get the free NFL jersey you wanted.

An alternative solutions is to use a "throw away" email address especially for free offers.  This would be an email address other than your primary email address.  Free email services are abundant.  Yahoo and hotmail are just two places to set up "throwaway" email addresses.  As soon as you give your email address, the offers will fill your inbox.  Using a "throwaway" email address sends them to an entirely different inbox so you don't even have to read them.

In the final analysis, these "free" offers are legitimate.  The avalanche of offers you'll receive is the price you pay for a free NFL jersey.  The offeror is counting on making money when you spend money on the other offers.