NBA Rumors: How Selling Ad Space on NBA Jerseys Will Ruin League
In need of a revenue boost, the NBA is considering selling ad space on jerseys to make up for its losses.
But the NBA should be worried about losing its fans.
According to Sports Business Journal, NBA owners will debate the idea in an April 12 meeting in New York. It marks their first board of governors meeting since the labor dispute last fall.
Selling ad space on jerseys would have its benefits. The added revenue would be spread across the league, allowing NBA teams to pay their players better. That potentially leads to better teams.
On the other hand, giving, say, the Miami Heat more money is just what small-market owners like Dan Gilbert of the Cleveland Cavaliers are fighting against.
But beyond all that, selling ad space on jerseys, while monetarily beneficial, could possibly distance the fans from the league even more. Because, while the money is helping franchises financially, patching ads on jerseys adds to the overwhelming commercialism consumers must put up with every day.
It also has the potential to frankly distance the players. The players and the league just got through a nasty labor dispute. Now imagine what happens when the NBA says, "Just put this Shell Oil patch on." If you want to talk about a human billboard, that's a human billboard.
After the lockout, fans are already sick and tired of the NBA's uber-richness. Fans pay to watch the game because they love the game—they don't want to be constantly bombarded with advertisements.
Naturally, this is a business, and a business doesn't survive without ads. But by taking it a step further, the NBA is in danger of seeing its fans take a step back. The fans don't see a "struggling" league—they see a league that has a lot of money that wants more.
The days may be long gone when you could simply watch a professional basketball player and admire his game, albeit for a brief moment before commercials. We are heading toward a future when team names won't mean anything anymore...because they will have become replaced by the ads they represent.
The new horizon: Derrick Rose slams home a thunderous dunk, but when he goes to rep his jersey, he looks down and sees a sponsor where his team name used to be.
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