FIFA-style sponsorships in NBA jerseys?

[RETROJR79]

Just put the ads on the floor like they do in the NHL I don't wanna see the Lakers famous gold jersey with a STAPLES logo on them.

[Saintsfan]

Is the league really hurting for money so much that it needs to do this? There's a very specific reason why soccer jerseys have ads and that reason doesn't exist in the NBA.

Which is?

There isn't a reason except maximising profit. Clubs only need sponsorship, if they do, because it would give them a competetive disadvantage if they didn't.

However this isn't going to solve a problem in the NBA because the usual suspects would get the biggest sponsorship deals and smaller teams would be stuck with smaller deals and greater yet gap between the rich and poor teams.

[Bouj]

Is the league really hurting for money so much that it needs to do this? There's a very specific reason why soccer jerseys have ads and that reason doesn't exist in the NBA.

Which is?

There isn't a reason except maximising profit. Clubs only need sponsorship, if they do, because it would give them a competetive disadvantage if they didn't.

However this isn't going to solve a problem in the NBA because the usual suspects would get the biggest sponsorship deals and smaller teams would be stuck with smaller deals and greater yet gap between the rich and poor teams.

TV commercials. Someone mentioned it upthread. No TV commercials during the game means they need to supplement revenue.

The NFL allows ad patches on practice gear. The WNBA & MLS are full-on ads-on-jerseys. I don't think it's that far-fetched to believe that the NBA would test run this on the warm-ups at least before eventually adopting jersey ads.

[OnWis97]

Is the league really hurting for money so much that it needs to do this? There's a very specific reason why soccer jerseys have ads and that reason doesn't exist in the NBA.

Which is?

There isn't a reason except maximising profit. Clubs only need sponsorship, if they do, because it would give them a competetive disadvantage if they didn't.

However this isn't going to solve a problem in the NBA because the usual suspects would get the biggest sponsorship deals and smaller teams would be stuck with smaller deals and greater yet gap between the rich and poor teams.

There would probably be revenue sharing. I'd guess each team would get 1/30th. Though Mark Cuban may push to avoid that.

[Lights Out]

I suppose the Clippers' jerseys will have Kia on the front? Ugh...

[AJM]

Soccer is one thing...it actually bothers me that some MLS clubs still are without kit sponsorship.

In regards to NBA, I can't see full blown jersey sponsorship happening...maybe a small patch, but not a chest workmark/logo. I kinda feel like these leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB) will embrace it at a minimum but never fully have sponsored unis like soccer clubs.

[Saintsfan]

Is the league really hurting for money so much that it needs to do this? There's a very specific reason why soccer jerseys have ads and that reason doesn't exist in the NBA.

Which is?

There isn't a reason except maximising profit. Clubs only need sponsorship, if they do, because it would give them a competetive disadvantage if they didn't.

However this isn't going to solve a problem in the NBA because the usual suspects would get the biggest sponsorship deals and smaller teams would be stuck with smaller deals and greater yet gap between the rich and poor teams.

TV commercials. Someone mentioned it upthread. No TV commercials during the game means they need to supplement revenue.

That's just wrong though. They don't. It might be the excuse MLS uses, but it's a nonsense argument. Teams could easily exist without sponsorship. Barcelona did very well without it until very recently. All Soccer clubs did until 30 or so years ago. They choose to supplement revenues. They don't need to.

[Wilt]

I don't agree. The main reason Barcelona finally sold their shirt was to earn extra money. And keeping it clean for decades allowed them to increase the value of such sponsorship. I won't speak about MLS but the clubs on other continents need to maximize the profits because there are no CBAs there. Few millions more can give you a competitive advantage.

[FrankCostanza]

I can see the NBA (or if not them, the NFL, NHL or MLB) eventually using a patch for advertising. In fact, MLB does it everytime they open the season in Japan. In 2008, the Red Sox had advertising on their helmets and jerseys when they played opened their season against the As in Tokyo.

[guest23]

Is the league really hurting for money so much that it needs to do this? There's a very specific reason why soccer jerseys have ads and that reason doesn't exist in the NBA.

Which is?

There isn't a reason except maximising profit. Clubs only need sponsorship, if they do, because it would give them a competetive disadvantage if they didn't.

However this isn't going to solve a problem in the NBA because the usual suspects would get the biggest sponsorship deals and smaller teams would be stuck with smaller deals and greater yet gap between the rich and poor teams.

TV commercials. Someone mentioned it upthread. No TV commercials during the game means they need to supplement revenue.

That's just wrong though. They don't. It might be the excuse MLS uses, but it's a nonsense argument. Teams could easily exist without sponsorship. Barcelona did very well without it until very recently. All Soccer clubs did until 30 or so years ago. They choose to supplement revenues. They don't need to.

I disagree 100% about mls...they are not yet a top tier league and they do not have a multi billion dollar national revenue sharing tv contract so every revenue opportunity counts to keep these teams afloat....fun fact: the inagural mls clubs all had ads on their kits but they were on the back below the numbers.

where I think you will see this in pro sports will be the low revenue clubs in mlb/nba/nhl that will use uniform ad revenue as a necessity to compete with the major markets...and given the fact that multiple franchises in all three leagues have been in some sort of bankruptcy or receivership, there will be some natural momentum to give ads a hard look.

[SCL]

I'm guessing Adidas gets a logo near the collar at the board meeting. Can you imagine the outrage if the Lakers and Celtics had their names removed? I'd rather see an ad in the lane before the unis get touched.

[guest23]

I'm guessing Adidas gets a logo near the collar at the board meeting. Can you imagine the outrage if the Lakers and Celtics had their names removed? I'd rather see an ad in the lane before the unis get touched.

you could put a logo below the numbers on both the front and back and fans would eventually get used to it...I agree that removing the wordmarks would be an atrocity and never fly

[Kevin W.]

Is the league really hurting for money so much that it needs to do this? There's a very specific reason why soccer jerseys have ads and that reason doesn't exist in the NBA.

Which is?

There isn't a reason except maximising profit. Clubs only need sponsorship, if they do, because it would give them a competetive disadvantage if they didn't.

However this isn't going to solve a problem in the NBA because the usual suspects would get the biggest sponsorship deals and smaller teams would be stuck with smaller deals and greater yet gap between the rich and poor teams.

TV commercials. Someone mentioned it upthread. No TV commercials during the game means they need to supplement revenue.

Yep, apart from the time right before and after the match and halftime, you have no time for commercials. It's 45 minutes straight with no interruptions. Thus, the ads on the jerseys are necessary.

[RedSox44]

I'm guessing Adidas gets a logo near the collar at the board meeting. Can you imagine the outrage if the Lakers and Celtics had their names removed? I'd rather see an ad in the lane before the unis get touched.

Just about to post that. If the Celtics or Lakers replace their wordmarks with advertisements for TD Bank or Staples, I'll wash my hands of this league.

[Rockstar Matt]

I'm guessing Adidas gets a logo near the collar at the board meeting. Can you imagine the outrage if the Lakers and Celtics had their names removed? I'd rather see an ad in the lane before the unis get touched.

Just about to post that. If the Celtics or Lakers replace their wordmarks with advertisements for TD Bank or Staples, I'll wash my hands of this league.

As will I.

Ads on soccer jerseys are alright, still don't really like them, but for soccer, it's okay.

I hope the NBA never puts ads on jerseys or the court. The Euro league does it, and it makes them look less professional. I love that in American sports leagues (excluding soccer) they don't have ads in the four major sports. It looks so much cleaner and more professional.

[slapshot]

Not sure about the Premiership, but I thought the primary reason for the sponsorship packages is to supplement the income of leagues that can't support themselves without it. We may think of the MLS as a major sport in North America, but I don't think it makes as much money as the other four do, hence the advertising. They tried at first, but after 8 or so seasons (i'm guessing) the teams had to resort to ads to keep them afloat. I think I've seen ads on lacrosse jerseys too.

How many sports and leagues around the world generate as much revenue as the four major sports in North America? How long have they had advertising on their uniforms?

Go to a minor league hockey game (or juniors)...look at all the ads on the ice. If there's a place for ads, it will be filled in. Lower-level sports need to do whatever they can to generate extra revenue to support their teams and leagues.

I'm surprised it took as long as it did for the MLS to have pretty much league-wide sponsoring of jerseys. Someone brought up a good point...there are no commercials until halftime, so aside from stadium banners (and whatever is shown with the score bugs during broadcasts), there is no extra revenue.

We may not like the ads, but they keep the sports and leagues afloat.

[Lights Out]

The only way ads on a basketball jersey would look good is something like this:

Or this:

And they'd still look better without the ads.

[Wilt]

You cannot compare four major American leagues with European football because the system is completely different. We Europeans tend to call the American way socialistic because the leagues are closed, the teams are called franchises (suggesting that they are not fully independent) and everything is regulated by collective bargaining agreement. In Europe, on the other hand, there are no salary caps so each club aims to get the biggest possible budget. Since the salaries are not regulated a club can always offer 1M extra to the player. Plus you rarely exchange players under the contact but pay cash for them. The bottom line is, everyone is trying to get few more bucks.

[Generic]

I don't agree with the idea of this, especially in a "Big 4" league. If anything would happen though, make it a small logo like what Lights Out had posted.

[Saintsfan]

Is the league really hurting for money so much that it needs to do this? There's a very specific reason why soccer jerseys have ads and that reason doesn't exist in the NBA.

Which is?

There isn't a reason except maximising profit. Clubs only need sponsorship, if they do, because it would give them a competetive disadvantage if they didn't.

However this isn't going to solve a problem in the NBA because the usual suspects would get the biggest sponsorship deals and smaller teams would be stuck with smaller deals and greater yet gap between the rich and poor teams.

TV commercials. Someone mentioned it upthread. No TV commercials during the game means they need to supplement revenue.

Yep, apart from the time right before and after the match and halftime, you have no time for commercials. It's 45 minutes straight with no interruptions. Thus, the ads on the jerseys are necessary.

But certainly in the UK the teams don't get any of that advertising revenue. Well except for indirectly through the TV company. It might be different in the MLS? There is no relationship in the UK between shirt sponsorship and TV advertising. Indeed shirt sponsorship started at a time when live TV coverage of soccer was exceedingly rare.