NBA Rumors: Slapping Ads on Jerseys Is Natural Step to Ensure Financial Success

Are you really going to be angry if there is an Adidas logo placed on a small portion of an NBA jersey?

The NBA is contemplating placing a logo of some kind on the front of each player’s jersey beginning next season. It’s not going to engulf the uniform, it'll just be a small patch that will barely be noticed.  According to John Lombardo and Terry Lefton of the SportsBusiness Journal, the issue will be a hot debate at the next board of governors meeting scheduled in April.

It makes plenty of sense. Basketball is the only professional sport that doesn’t feature some sort of logo on the uniform and the league is missing out on an easy opportunity to cash in. After a painful lockout where whiny owners complained they were losing money, you’d think this would be an easy decision.

In a study conducted by Horizon Media, they concluded that a brand logo across the middle of a NBA jersey taking up a mere 3.5 percent of the TV screen would equal $31.8 million in exposure (via Sporting News). That’s without factoring in Sportscenter and other highlight shows that are typically watched by more people than an actual game.

New Jersey Nets CEO Brett Yormark certainly sounds on board (via Sporting News):

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Obviously, it’s a league decision, but as someone who spent seven years at NASCAR, I know the value of putting a brand on the playing field and the uniform, so it is certainly something I would support. You can monetize this in ways you can’t monetize any other kind of marketing inventory. And, of course, we’re in the No. 1 market in the country, so ...

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The big key here is reaching an agreement with an advertiser that makes sense for the game of basketball.

Nascar and their insane amount of sponsors will have you looking at logos for websites, insurance companies and laundry detergent. It’s overkill and distracts you from the sport itself.

Adidas is the leading candidate to land a deal with the NBA and I’d say the average fan wouldn’t even notice. With Nike swooshes and the three Adidas stripes already draped over a player’s shoes, it’s really not a huge difference.

The NFL and MLB already sport brand logos for their jersey, and you probably don’t even notice. This is not that big of a deal and the NBA needs to stop tip-toeing around it. It’s encouraging to see that the higher ups are in fact concerned about how the fans feel on the issue, but this is a no-brainer.

As long as the brand sponsor is basketball related, the NBA needs to take advantage of this cash cow. 

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