NBA: How Much for the Jersey Off My Back?

Posted on Mar 6, 2012

Illustration from a photo by Denise Cross (CC-BY)

The NBA is debating whether to sell ad space on its players’ jerseys, according to a report in the SportsBusiness Journal.

This is a common sight for fans of soccer, the world’s biggest sport, who are used to seeing brands such as Vodafone and Herbalife instead of team names. But in soccer there are no commercials interrupting games, making the ads somewhat less obnoxious.

The NBA board of governors will weigh whether or not to open up the jerseys to advertisers in April. The whole issue could merely be a bargaining ploy with Adidas, the company that makes NBA jerseys and is looking to find a better home for its logo.

It seems inevitable that advertisers, which already sponsor NBA teams, arenas and halftime shows, will find their way onto jerseys just as soon as fans will stomach it.  —PZS

SportsBusiness Journal via The Sporting News:

With the NBA positioning itself as the most global of leagues, will it soon join the rest of the world by selling advertising on uniforms? The sticky issue will be debated, if not voted on, at the next board of governors meeting in April.

It’s a touchy topic, one that involves balancing some of the most influential league constituencies and addressing some thorny questions: Would uniform patches be league or team inventory? Will NBA broadcasters TNT and ESPN/ABC, or even uniform rights holder Adidas, want a piece of the action? Would the league take a PR hit as the first to accept non-endemic ads on uniforms?

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