NBA switching to Nike in 2017

[GriffinM6]

MLB next?

I perviously wanted to ask that without hijacking the thread -- but since you just did the honors: What is the current status with MLB & Majestic? In other words "How soon can Nike invade America's pastime?!"

I don't see Nike wasting their time/money with the MLB. Its a dying sport in the US and internationally.

I LOLed so hard at this.

[guest23]

I would not laugh too hard as mlb is fiscally sound for the present but many key indicators indicate that mlb is heading to gradual decline.

Median age is growing meaning they are not attracting new fans. TV ratings are a fraction of what they once were. Youth participation especially by minorities has declined significantly. Advertisers are putting their money elsewhere.

Baseball is more and more becoming a sport exclusively followed by nostalgic old white men.

[MJWalker45]

MLB next?

I perviously wanted to ask that without hijacking the thread -- but since you just did the honors: What is the current status with MLB & Majestic? In other words "How soon can Nike invade America's pastime?!"

I think the feeling from MLB is that everyone already assumes Nike's making the uniforms because Nike has the undergarment contract and everyone sees the swoosh on the neck. So Nike probably wouldn't buy in when they make enough of an impact with the t-shirt contracts.

[WSU151]

I would not laugh too hard as mlb is fiscally sound for the present but many key indicators indicate that mlb is heading to gradual decline.

Median age is growing meaning they are not attracting new fans. TV ratings are a fraction of what they once were. Youth participation especially by minorities has declined significantly. Advertisers are putting their money elsewhere.

Baseball is more and more becoming a sport exclusively followed by nostalgic old white men.

And yet television contracts and scheduled cash flows have never been higher.

Baseball will always have plenty of money.

[MEANS]

MLB and Majestic just extended their contract through 2019. The MLB likes having one manufacturer dedicating their attention to just them. Majestic is owned by VF.

[OnWis97]

MLB and Majestic just extended their contract through 2019. The MLB likes having one manufacturer dedicating their attention to just them. Majestic is owned by VF.

Good.

As much as too much Nike/UA/Adidas treatment bugs me in other sports, it would be most depressing in MLB.

[guest23]

I would not laugh too hard as mlb is fiscally sound for the present but many key indicators indicate that mlb is heading to gradual decline.

Median age is growing meaning they are not attracting new fans. TV ratings are a fraction of what they once were. Youth participation especially by minorities has declined significantly. Advertisers are putting their money elsewhere.

Baseball is more and more becoming a sport exclusively followed by nostalgic old white men.

And yet television contracts and scheduled cash flows have never been higher.

Baseball will always have plenty of money.

Straight out of the mlb talking points. Financially sound now but with structural problems in the long term as the marketplace evolves. How hard is that to comprehend?

We've also likely hit peak cable TV contracts so once again mlb will likely become less relevant as boomers continue to age.

[TheOldRoman]

I would not laugh too hard as mlb is fiscally sound for the present but many key indicators indicate that mlb is heading to gradual decline.

Median age is growing meaning they are not attracting new fans. TV ratings are a fraction of what they once were. Youth participation especially by minorities has declined significantly. Advertisers are putting their money elsewhere.

Baseball is more and more becoming a sport exclusively followed by nostalgic old white men.

You're wrong, and your last sentence is nonsense. Also, you might want to look at which demographic is growing most rapidly in the US. Hint: it loves baseball.

[WSU151]

I would not laugh too hard as mlb is fiscally sound for the present but many key indicators indicate that mlb is heading to gradual decline.

Median age is growing meaning they are not attracting new fans. TV ratings are a fraction of what they once were. Youth participation especially by minorities has declined significantly. Advertisers are putting their money elsewhere.

Baseball is more and more becoming a sport exclusively followed by nostalgic old white men.

And yet television contracts and scheduled cash flows have never been higher.

Baseball will always have plenty of money.

Straight out of the mlb talking points. Financially sound now but with structural problems in the long term as the marketplace evolves. How hard is that to comprehend?

We've also likely hit peak cable TV contracts so once again mlb will likely become less relevant as boomers continue to age.

The weird thing is long term problems can be fixed rather easily. They'd be stupid if they just kept the status quo for the next 50 or 60 years.

MLB's digital media team has long been the standard among the Big 4, so I don't see any problems adjusting. MLB.TV is the most agile platform available to the most number of users, and is especially aimed at the younger crowd. In contrast, the NFL's continuing Sunday Ticket contract with DirectTV is far more problematic as dish and cable subscribers decrease; there is no legal way for all fans to watch all NFL games through a streaming device.

Youth participation has only declined among African Americans. Latino and Asian participation is still high. How hard is that to comprehend? If you want to consult with Chris Rock to figure out an answer, be my guest.

[guest23]

I would not laugh too hard as mlb is fiscally sound for the present but many key indicators indicate that mlb is heading to gradual decline.

Median age is growing meaning they are not attracting new fans. TV ratings are a fraction of what they once were. Youth participation especially by minorities has declined significantly. Advertisers are putting their money elsewhere.

Baseball is more and more becoming a sport exclusively followed by nostalgic old white men.

You're wrong, and your last sentence is nonsense. Also, you might want to look at which demographic is growing most rapidly in the US. Hint: it loves baseball.

You mean the demo who's favorite pastime is stealing market share from mlb?

You can say I'm wrong all you want but outside of cable TV which grossly overpaid for recent contracts, advertisers are investing in futbol more and more and less and less in mlb.

I don't have a dog in this fight but I do follow a good deal of the research. My hypothesis here is far from unique.

I also apologize to all of the old white men who still wax poetically about catching a Pete rose foul ball when they were 10. I should be more respective of the golden era of things.

[TheOldRoman]

It's not stealing market share because ticket sales are the highest ever and viewership in general is strong (accounting that literally everything on TV has seen ratings plummet except the NFL). Advertisers aren't fleeing baseball. Your last two posts have shown an amazing ability to both 1) be wrong; and 2) say something incredibly imbecilic in your last sentence to show that you're clearly viewing things through a bias against either white people, baseball fans, or both.

[Gothamite]

We've also likely hit peak cable TV contracts

That's a good one.

[WSU151]

I would not laugh too hard as mlb is fiscally sound for the present but many key indicators indicate that mlb is heading to gradual decline.

Median age is growing meaning they are not attracting new fans. TV ratings are a fraction of what they once were. Youth participation especially by minorities has declined significantly. Advertisers are putting their money elsewhere.

Baseball is more and more becoming a sport exclusively followed by nostalgic old white men.

You're wrong, and your last sentence is nonsense. Also, you might want to look at which demographic is growing most rapidly in the US. Hint: it loves baseball.

You mean the demo who's favorite pastime is stealing market share from mlb?

You can say I'm wrong all you want but outside of cable TV which grossly overpaid for recent contracts, advertisers are investing in futbol more and more and less and less in mlb.

I don't have a dog in this fight but I do follow a good deal of the research. My hypothesis here is far from unique.

I also apologize to all of the old white men who still wax poetically about catching a Pete rose foul ball when they were 10. I should be more respective of the golden era of things.

Let's see the aggregate numbers that you gathered from your due diligence.

And cable TV grossly overpaid...which is why they continue to overpay...hahaha somewhere there's a disconnect between your outsider analysis and their insider cash flow analysis.

[IceCap]

I don't have a dog in this fight...

It seems obvious that you do. If you want to talk about it take it to an appropriate Sports in General thread.

[CLEstones]

MLB next?

I perviously wanted to ask that without hijacking the thread -- but since you just did the honors: What is the current status with MLB & Majestic? In other words "How soon can Nike invade America's pastime?!"

I don't see Nike wasting their time/money with the MLB. Its a dying sport in the US and internationally.

I LOLed so hard at this.

Sorry, baseball is popular in Latin America, Japan, and China. Clearly a great barometer, globally. Baseball is irrelevant everywhere else. Citing record TV contracts is erroneous when the MLB is currently trying to change rules and figuring out ways to appeal to a younger generation... The instant gratification generation. The writing is on the walls. But you can continue to believe what you want.

[Gothamite]

The NFL is changing its rules to be stay current.

What does that have to do with anything?

[CubsFanBudMan]

This thread took an odd turn.

I think Silver is emulating soccer because he wants basketball to be entrenched as the world's No. 2 sport. Is it already? In my mind, yes, but I have no facts to back that up.

Look for jersey week every two years, color on color, shirt sponsors and clash kits coming to an arena near you, logo fans.

NFL's international presence is way more limited and doomsday scenarios much more dire than anything MLB has to fear. Is MLB dying among the inner city youth population? Absolutely, but they are at least trying to fix it with the RBI program. From what I've seen, Little League hasn't evolved in ways to properly assist, and youth baseball in general seems less accessible because of travel teams.

MLBAM was mentioned above. It's into more than just baseball and has been way ahead of the curve digitally. I think they are well positioned for the future because of this in ways that people focused on traditional media ratings can't see.

MLB also controls its international competition, something the NHL and NBA seem at least curious about pursuing as well.

I mean, "if you don't like it, you don't like it. That don't mean that you're hatin'." (Common voice)

But... some of the statements are really extreme. MLB may be off, but they are still No. 2 in the U.S. last I heard and teams fill 81 home dates a year for the top team and 70 or so for 4 more levels of minor leagues? The death of baseball has been greatly exaggerated.

And someone said soccer is taking its spot? I remember when Pele supposedly did that for my generation. I think it's absolutely growing for real this time, but it's still got a ways to go.

On topic: Looking forward to the Jordan logo on the Bulls jersey, not gonna lie. All the other major sports have the manufacturer logos, so purity be damned. "Oh your team retired your number? Mine wears my silhouette."

[Guest]

On topic: Looking forward to the Jordan logo on the Bulls jersey, not gonna lie. All the other major sports have the manufacturer logos, so purity be damned. "Oh your team retired your number? Mine wears my silhouette."

Reminds me of the SNL Celebrity Jeopardy episode where Burt Reynolds (Norm McDonald) put a "kick me" sign on John Travolta (Darrell Hammond) and goes, "check out this guy's back." Jerry West be like, "Check out everybody's back. EVERYONE wears my silhouette." (Except the league won't admit it so it won't have to pay West.)

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/jeopardy/n11015 (At 4:07 mark.)

[sportsfan0518]

I'm confused why everyone is up and arms about the swoosh being on the jersey. This is nothing new in basketball. The swoosh has been on many jerseys in college basketball with schools that have Nike as their athletic supplier.

Even though NCAA basketball is different from NBA basketball, we have all seen this before in American basketball.

[Guest]

It's only a few years old. And NCAA is more crooked that the NBA, and the NBA doesn't need the money. Sure, who wouldn't want more money, but it just didn't need it. NASCAR drivers NEED endorsements; NBA players wear different shoes already, but teams are doing just fine, especially with TV endorsement deals. Heck, the deal Jerry Buss negotiated with TWC basically took care of his children for the rest of their lives. They're just lucky they finalized the deal before Kobe got hurt. Twice.

There's nothing wrong, but it's just a ugly reminder of greed as opposed to capitalism. I'm used to it because of soccer, but you're right: if domestic violence and blatant cheating won't bug fans, then I doubt a Swoosh on a jersey will, either.