Mark Cuban would consider jersey ads

[eRay]

Story here.

Dan asked Cuban about the trend of American teams putting sponsorships on their jerseys. Cuban said in today's economy, he would do it for the right price. "We already know we're whores, it's just a matter of how much," Cuban said.

Cuban said the media would go nuts at first if they advertised on jerseys, but they'd soon get over it. "It would be forgotten in 33 days," Cuban said.

Cuban also said that fans realize the more advertising, the lower the ticket prices.

Sounds like my overreaction to the WNBA jersey ads wasn't an overreaction after all. I think this will be done within 2 years.

[ColeJ]

if it actually led to lower ticket prices, i'd agree.

but it won't. ticket prices are set by supply and demand. not by how much it takes to run the team.

[Saintsfan]

My guess is that the NBA and NHL would be amongst the first to jump on the sponsorship bandwagon, NFL and MLB might hold out a bit longer. But I would still hope that some teams would hold out. I would hate to see the Celtics or Lakers, or Leafs or Red Wings or Flyers go down this route.

[ColeJ]

My guess is that the NBA and NHL would be amongst the first to jump on the sponsorship bandwagon, NFL and MLB might hold out a bit longer. But I would still hope that some teams would hold out. I would hate to see the Celtics or Lakers, or Leafs or Red Wings or Flyers go down this route.

i honestly think the nba and nfl would go for it before the nhl and mlb.

seems to be less obsessive traditionalism in football and basketball than in hockey or baseball.

[BBTV]

My guess is that the NBA and NHL would be amongst the first to jump on the sponsorship bandwagon, NFL and MLB might hold out a bit longer. But I would still hope that some teams would hold out. I would hate to see the Celtics or Lakers, or Leafs or Red Wings or Flyers go down this route.

i honestly think the nba and nfl would go for it before the nhl and mlb.

seems to be less obsessive traditionalism in football and basketball than in hockey or baseball.

But the NHL was the one who did a near-league-wide redesign of logos and uniforms just recently.

[JQK]

You'll see more ads on hockey ice before you see it on hockey jerseys...

[OnWis97]

Cuban said the media would go nuts at first if they advertised on jerseys, but they'd soon get over it. "It would be forgotten in 33 days," Cuban said.

This is why I think it will happen. Cuban's exactly right. People are very against it right now, but they'd come to accept it. Maybe more than 33 days, but fairly soon.

[AndrewPF]

He would say that.

[Saturn]

He would say that.

So true. God I hope this doesn't catch on.

[bulldogbarks55]

Cuban said the media would go nuts at first if they advertised on jerseys, but they'd soon get over it. "It would be forgotten in 33 days," Cuban said.

This is why I think it will happen. Cuban's exactly right. People are very against it right now, but they'd come to accept it. Maybe more than 33 days, but fairly soon.

Whoop-di-frickin'-doo. Another great American institution (big-league professional sports) wimping out and following those panty-waist Euros. Enough already!

[Firefly]

Cuban also said that fans realize the more advertising, the lower the ticket prices.

Bull. Hockey.

Ads might offset costs but there is no way that is going to translate into lower prices unless we're talking nosebleeds and even then it will cost $7.25 for a small popcorn (I haven't been to a game in two or three years so I might be putting too low a price on that popcorn)

[Gothamite]

Cuban also said that fans realize the more advertising, the lower the ticket prices.

Bull. Hockey.

Ads might offset costs but there is no way that is going to translate into lower prices unless we're talking nosebleeds and even then it will cost $7.25 for a small popcorn (I haven't been to a game in two or three years so I might be putting too low a price on that popcorn)

Agreed. Cuban's talking out of the side of his mouth.

If this happens, I'd like to see him held to lowering ticket prices. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

[patsox]

I could care less about ads on jerseys. It's seriously not that big of a deal and if it generates my favorite teams more revenue, then I'm all for it. The only thing I would possibly be worried about is the placement of the ads. For example if baseball teams put small patches with corporate logos on them on the sleeves of baseball jerseys, I would be fine with that. It's not to intrusive looking and I've already seen that on Red Sox jerseys when they played in Japan. On the flip side, I really can't see how football, basketball, or hockey could manage to place ads on their jerseys in any kind of unintrusive manner. There's simply not as much space on those jerseys and the only places I can see them fitting logos is either on the left or right chests, front and center like the WNBA and soccer/football. I wouldn't really be a fan of that, as that's basically what the AHL does and in my opinion it looks horrible.

[Perfect Zero]

I remember him talking about this a few years ago in the Star- Telegram, and the flux of opinions coming in against the idea. Even with him talking about it has shifted me from being a Mavericks fan to a Hornets fan.

I don't think that jerseys in the major four will have ads on them in any case. Remember the bases for Superman 2 and the outcry that canceled the whole promotion? That wasn't a cheap move for MLB to remove the whole thing, so the fans do have a voice. I hope it will be enough to keep our colors clean.

BTW, if you think putting an ad on a jersey will result in good news for fans, you are nuts. It will generate more revenue for the owner, but expect ticket prices to expand as well as food and drink items. It's one thing to whore out uniforms for the owner's pockets, it's another thing to pull wool over your eyes and believe it's the best thing for the club.

[Gothamite]

I could care less about ads on jerseys. It's seriously not that big of a deal and if it generates my favorite teams more revenue, then I'm all for it.

The problem I have with that argument is that there will always be teams who can generate more revenue that way than yours can.

Maybe the Red Sox get $5M a year from their jersey patches. The Yankees may get $15M. Once you start Keeping Up With the Joneses, it's a hard beast to kill.

You might say "I'm not scared of that - the larger income hasn't helped the Yanks lately, and the Sox are fine with their lower payroll." But then what's the point of corrupting your team's uniform for a couple dollars?

[BBTV]

I could care less about ads on jerseys. It's seriously not that big of a deal and if it generates my favorite teams more revenue, then I'm all for it.

The problem I have with that argument is that there will always be teams who can generate more revenue that way than yours can.

Maybe the Red Sox get $5M a year from their jersey patches. The Yankees may get $15M. Once you start Keeping Up With the Joneses, it's a hard beast to kill.

You might say "I'm not scared of that - the larger income hasn't helped the Yanks lately, and the Sox are fine with their lower payroll." But then what's the point of corrupting your team's uniform for a couple dollars?

Right, and you know that the jersey patches wouldn't be part of any shared revenue system, even though unlike most forms of local revenue, the ads would be displayed away from home.

[AJM]

You'll see more ads on hockey ice before you see it on hockey jerseys...

I'd rather see this...Ads on fields, courts, and ice before uniforms.

[crashcarson15]

If it helps replace a front number on a hockey jersey, I'm all for it

[dougaldo]

Of course the 1st one to jump into this. Get some of his money back, not as good as a ring but a useful consolation prize.

[Michael_Studebaker]

If any league I watched started putting ads on their uniforms, I would probably have to stop watching it. It just gets to the point where you have to say enough is enough. I know some people will think that is an overreaction, but that's how I feel.