Report: Ads on NBA jerseys could be right around the corner
If you take in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, you'll likely notice that the jerseys are unlike anything you see during the regular season. And, yes, a big part of that will be the different design aesthetic. More importantly, though, the jerseys in Toronto worn by the likes of Stephen Curry and LeBron James will feature an advertisement in the form of a patch on the front of the jersey.
According to a report on Thursday, it likely won't be the last time you see such an ad, however, as the league's owners will meet to discuss the future of corporate logos on jerseys (via ESPN.com):
Under the league proposal, which must be approved by the Board of Governors in April to come to fruition, teams will be able to sell one corporate logo on their uniform for the 2017-18 season. That would give teams a year to sell, and it also matches up with the league's new apparel deal with Nike.
In order to address the disparity in market size and the value that larger cities would have compared with smaller cities, the league is proposing that 50 percent of the money from a deal would be kept by the team while the other 50 percent would go into a revenue-sharing pot.
The money won't go just to the owners, however. Because the jerseys are considered part of basketball-related income under the collective bargaining agreement, they'll be subject to the league's revenue-sharing rules.
While the possibility of the NBA's putting ads on regular-season jerseys has been discussed for years, one move in particular helped set the stage for Sunday's patch and any future ads. Before the 2014-15 season, the league shifted the logo patch from the upper left front of the jersey to the back. The former location is reportedly where any proposed ads would be placed, as seen in this year's All-Star jerseys.
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