NBA owners are scheduled to pass a vote that will allow teams to put advertisements on game jerseys for the 2017-18 NBA season, according to reports from ESPN. Several teams around the league have begun getting a feel for which companies to sell the extremely profitable ads, which would be strategically placed on the left shoulder of the jerseys in a 2.5 x 2.5 inch patch.
According to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, it’s a deal that will be profitable for both parties—the league as well as the organizations that are being advertised.
“Once they put their name on the jerseys, they’ll then use their media to promote the NBA extensively. That’s probably the greatest reason for us to do it.”
Per the proposal, teams will be able to sell only one corporate logo for a maximum of three years, which means that teams in bigger markets are not able to monopolize the top-tier companies. Also, this will line up perfectly with the league’s new apparel deal with shoe giant Nike, which starts for the 2017-18 league year.
One of the major points of the deal is that 50% of the earnings gained from the uniform ads would be put into a revenue sharing pot that would be shared by all 30 teams. This deal will make the NBA the first major professional sports league to put ads on game day uniforms.