Last June, the NBA announced that it inked an eight-year apparel deal with Nike that will take effect beginning with the 2017-18 season.
The deal, which ESPN reported is worth roughly $1 billion, marks a 245 percent annual increase for the league in comparison to that of its soon-to-be expiring apparel partnership with Adidas. Nike also saw to it that its Swoosh logo will be on all players' jerseys throughout the league, marking a first for the NBA.
Now, the NBA is taking this advertising to another level, and let's just say the Swoosh will have to make some room. On Friday, the NBA announced that its owners approved advertising on jerseys for the first time in league history.
The three-year pilot program, which will also take effect for the 2017-18 season, will allow companies to buy advertising real estate in the form of 2.5-by-2.5-inch patches. In doing so, the NBA expects to generate at least $100 million in extra revenue annually. That being said, Bloomberg projects the ads on jerseys bringing in closer to $150 million annually.
In addition, the NBA sort of becomes a pioneer with this move, as the other major American sports leagues — the NFL, MLB and NHL — have yet to allow advertising on jerseys, although the MLB has allowed it in limited games overseas, and the NFL allows it only on practice jerseys, but not during regular-season games.
In a way, the NBA is following soccer's lead with companies' logos being allowed on international players' jerseys and within Major League Soccer jerseys in the U.S. The WNBA has already allowed ads on jerseys as well. In addition, legendary boxer Bernard Hopkins once raked in $100,000 for having GoldenPalace.com stenciled on his back during a September 2001 pay-per-view victory over Felix Trinidad.
However, the NBA allowing ads on jerseys is significant, especially if the other sports leagues follow suit.
"Jersey sponsorships provide deeper engagement with partners looking to build a unique association with our teams," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement posted on NBA.com Friday. "The additional investment will help grow the game in exciting new ways."
