NBA Takes Ads To An Unprecedented Level
Photo credit: NBA.com
After a long commute home, you fumble in the door and lounge on the couch to begin to unwind. You aimlessly channel surf waiting for a program to catch your eye.
In the two minutes it takes for you to land on a channel, you’ve already been exposed to at least 5 commercial ads. And it doesn’t end there. Sponsors are inconspicuously placed in view in every frame of the show.
Ten minutes later…more commercials start to take over the screen.
Advertisers are spending unspeakable amounts of capital each year to gain more exposure – and professional sports organizations are no stranger to the game.
A 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl ran for as much as $5 million. According to ESPN, that’s 11 percent higher than the previous Super Bowl.
In an attempt to reel in some of that tempting revenue, the NBA has approved the sale of jersey sponsorships as part of a three-year pilot program.
NBA teams are permitted to sell ad space to any company, with the exception of groups that promote gambling, alcohol or politics.
Half of the revenue generated from a sale will be split amongst the players on the team. The second half of the money will be further split between the individual team that will be wearing the logo and a revenue-sharing pool.
The NBA will join Major League Soccer (MLS) as the second major U.S. professional sports league to allow advertisements on player jerseys.
Wasting no time after this announcement, the Philadelphia 76ers have officially become the first team in the NBA to sell ad space on their jerseys.
The 76ers will be sponsored by StubHub as part of a three-season agreement that is rumored to be worth $5 million per season, and is open to be extended if the NBA allows it. The sponsorship will include StubHub’s new logo being displayed on the front of the Sixers’ game jerseys next season.
The players won’t be the only ones sporting the new logo. Starting next season, StubHub’s patch will also be included on all jerseys sold at Sixers’ home games. Fans nationwide will have to purchase a jersey at a team location if they’d like the new logo to be included.
With the 76ers taking advantage of this new policy of selling ad space on their jerseys, it’s only a matter of time before other NBA teams follow their lead and we’ll be exposed to even more advertisements during our daily routines.
