UConn’s Final Four run could cost Jordan’s Furniture $50M, owner says
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More than forty years ago, Eliot Tatelman worked with his father in a furniture store in New England. He probably never expected that years later, a bold bet on the 2007 World Series headlined by the Boston Red Sox would put him in the title race alongside the franchise’s biggest stars.
As the parade moved through the streets of Boston, some participants held signs that read “Thanks for the free furniture,” a nod to the retailer’s promotion.
Now Tatelman’s Jordan’s Furniture company is revisiting that idea with a similar promotion, betting on how far UConn’s men’s and women’s basketball teams will advance in this year’s NCAA Division I tournaments.
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UConn Huskies’ Braylon Mullins (24) celebrates after making the game-winning 3-pointer in the second half against the Duke Blue Devils during a 2026 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
The retailer promised to refund up to a total of nearly $50 million if both Huskies teams reached their respective national championship games and then lost. Eligible furniture must be purchased from Jordan’s Furniture between January 20 and March 1, according to the company’s website.
2026 NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT SELECTIONS ANNOUNCED
Tatelman served as the furniture retailer’s CEO, but the day-to-day operations of the family business continue to be overseen by his children.
The UConn women’s team will face South Carolina in Phoenix on Friday at 7 p.m., while the men’s team will face Illinois in Indianapolis on Saturday.
The UConn Huskies are awarded the Fort Worth Regional trophy following their victory against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on March 29, 2026 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. (Chris Jones/Imagn Images)
“We have insurance,” Tatelman told USA Today Sports. “We want them to win.”
There are two Jordan’s Furniture locations in Storrs, Connecticut.
Braylon Mullins (24) celebrates with UConn Huskies’ Jayden Ross (23) and Malachi Smith (0) after Mullins made the game-winning 3-pointer in the second half against the Duke Blue Devils during the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Tatelman reflected on the Red Sox promotion, recalling the bold proposition that helped define the campaign.
“We said, ‘Come to Jordan and get a couch, a bed, a mattress, a dining table,'” he said. “And if the Red Sox win the World Series, it’ll all be free.”
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The Red Sox’s four-game victory over the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 World Series cost the furniture company approximately $35 million. Tatelman said he “bought insurance for it.”
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