How do you design a football man cave? The first step is to decide if the man cave will be about one team or league-wide stars. The next step is to find all the furniture you need. Finally, you need to find memorabilia that showcases your favorite moments and players of all time.
When I think of man caves I think of football. Between college football and the National Football League, a die-hard football fan has a lot of content to consume. Even a semi-serious fantasy football player will have a rooting interest for every NFL slate. The more football you watch, the more important it is going to be to set up a perfect man cave.
You can have an absolute blast designing a football-themed man cave. You get to find that perfect balance of honoring legends and current stars. The other big decision is to determine what kind of man cave are you making. Is this going to be a place to proudly represent your favorite team? Or will it be a place for your favorite players of all time, regardless of their allegiance? Whether you build a college or NFL man cave, this article will get you on the right track.
I originally wrote an article on How to Design a Baseball Man Cave. That article got a lot of engagement so here is my coverage of the biggest sport in town — football!
Furniture
Finding the right furniture is going to be extremely important if you want to be able to comfortably watch the NFL Sunday slate of games with your buddies. The furniture is what makes or breaks the viewing experience. If you have a great television and seating arrangement, your experience will be a good one, regardless of the memorabilia on the walls.
Memorabilia is part of building the atmosphere that makes a man cave awesome and will enhance the experience. However, furniture is at the very core of a man cave. If you have an uncomfortable couch and blurry television, you are not ready to invite the guys over for a game day party. Nobody is coming to your man cave on game day for the autographed helmet collection (though they will be impressed).
I wrote an extensive article with everything you need to know about finding the perfect man cave furniture based on your current budget. If you are starting from scratch or plan on a big renovation, check out this article.
Football Memorabilia
I’ve said this before, but a man cave without memorabilia is just a living room. Memorabilia builds the atmosphere in the room and gives you the opportunity to showcase your favorite players and moments of all time.
Framed Jerseys
I have been a huge advocate of framed jerseys on this site. Jerseys look so much better framed than just tacked up to a wall. They also provide symmetry and cover more space than most memorabilia. That means you do not need any interior design skills to make the man cave look good. The smaller and more intricate you get with it, the harder it will be to design. If you want to see the rest of my suggestions for making the walls look great, check out “7 Awesome Types of Man Cave Decor.”
Signed Footballs
Autographed footballs are a great way to add some personality to your man cave. People are instantly drawn to signed footballs and the players that you choose to show off in your football man cave says a lot about you.
Personally, I would use footballs from players who had big moments and helmets to show my favorite all-time players. For example, as a Patriots fan, Malcolm Butler made one of my favorite plays of all time. Donte Hightower and James White made game-changing plays in the 28-3 Super Bowl victory over the Falcons. Even Adam Vinatieri will likely make my football display section.
Hopefully you have an idea of how you plan to pick which autographs to acquire to add to whatever collection you already have. As of right now, the only autographed football I have is from Wes Welker. It was a birthday gift, as he was one of the players I modeled my game after as an undersized receiver. The next question is, how do I display these footballs?
Perfect Cases NFL Upright Octagon Football Glass Display Case (4.4 Stars)
This Perfect Case product is far and away better than a standard case. Most cases are just horizontal rectangles that make the football look plain. This display puts the football on a pedestal, making the memorabilia actually look valuable. Picking a display case feels like a small detail, but a row of these cases will make your man cave look so much better. I HIGHLY recommend this table top display case to improve your football man cave. if you went looking for advice to build or renovate a man cave, these are the tips that will separate your man cave from the pack.
Signed Helmets
Helmets are my favorite football-specific memorabilia. Helmets look phenomenal by themselves and even better in a row. I suggested using autographed helmets to pay homage to your absolute favorite all-time players earlier in the article.
As a longtime Patriots fan, Tom Brady would be the first player on my list. I will likely go hunting for his Michigan helmet as well. I do not care that he left New England for Tampa Bay. No athlete has created more memories for me than Tom Brady.
Another great idea would be to go for every iteration of your favorite team’s football helmets. This idea particularly works if you are a college football fan, as many teams tend to switch up their uniforms rather frequently (especially Oregon). That said, ideas like the color rush uniforms have created enough change in the NFL to be able to fill a collection with unique helmets.
Personal Accolades
This section does not apply to everyone, but I think adding a section for personal accolades would be a nice touch. Most people still have their old helmet or jersey in storage somewhere. Having a section of the wall to hang up your gear would be a nice touch to really show your guests a little bit about themselves. If you have been mentioned in an article, that would be a cool addition as well. For some this idea will seem too cocky, but this is your man cave after all.
Wall Art for Teams
I found this last suggestion when doing research for this article. A few companies make really cool wall art of team logos. These canvases are not nearly as important as furniture or memorabilia. That said, a few of you might consider these pieces to be worthy of your man cave. This artwork applies more so for the people who are planning on making a man cave for one college or NFL team, rather than the league as a whole.
MIAUEN New England Patriots Wall Pictures Canvas Art (4.4 Stars)
This link is for the NFL fans that want team wall art. MIAUEN makes a lot of these products with various designs per team. Some teams appeared to be missing, but if you search for your team’s canvas art, Amazon should find it for you. There are also many companies that do this type of artwork so somebody should have it in stock.
5 Piece American Football College University Teams Art Decor (4.6 Stars)
The design is the same here but this link is for the college football fans. As I just said, if you cannot find your team, just search for it on Amazon. Most teams will be accounted for, especially power five schools.
Wrap Up + Bonus Tips
Once the furniture is in the room and the memorabilia is on the walls, you have successfully built a football man cave! There are only two factors needed for a man cave. The first is to create a quality viewing experience. That means the seating arrangement is accommodating and the television has the right channels with a clear picture. The second step is to build the atmosphere of a football-themed man cave. The best way to do that is to cover the room with your favorite memorabilia.
If you are looking to improve in both of those areas, building a football- themed man cave bar is a great next step. This addition will enhance the viewing experience and vastly improve the atmosphere of a man cave. Nothing screams man cave more than a football-themed bar section. Having a bar in your man cave will make all of your friends jealous. If you want to look into how feasible a football-themed man cave bar is, check out my article on the topic (football has it’s own section).
My last suggestion is to enhance the viewing experience specifically. If you are looking to have a great game day, NFL Sunday Ticket is by far the best service to do so. This is certainly not a requirement, but if your budget allows for it, NFL Sunday Ticket is an outstanding addition to your game day experience.
NFL Sunday Ticket is by far the most valuable streaming service for professional football. They offer every live out-of-market game as well as some phenomenal features you cannot get anywhere else. RedZone is a channel where they show all the action and cut to the teams closest to scoring. They also update you on all of the biggest plays around the league. They even have a channel for Fantasy Football where all of the content is focused around showing fantasy relevant plays. You can easily watch NFL Sunday Ticket on any device including TV.
How to Stream at a Tailgate (Free Services Included)
Written by Scott Neville in Tailgating
Summary
- Determine what you want with your man cave. Are you going display one team proudly, or your favorite players around the league? Will this be a college football or NFL man cave?
- Spend the majority of your budget and decision making on the furniture selection. The game viewing experience is the main reason for a man cave. Remember what really matters.
- Once the furniture and television are decided on, focus on memorabilia. Showcase your favorite players and moments of all time.
- The man cave is established! If you want to expand further, look into adding a bar.
- If you are a fan of the NFL or Fantasy Football, consider NFL Sunday Ticket to improve your viewing experience and access.
I hope I helped get your mind working as you plan out your man cave design. If you liked this article, check out our man cave page!