In the past year, the NBA has been thinking about following suit with the English Premier League by gaining sponsorships with companies. With these sponsorships involves putting logos on jerseys. The NBA has three different jersey designs in mind, and all of them have the corporate logo on it; either in the middle, dominating the shirt, on the lower front of the shirt, or a small shoulder patch on the front of the jersey. The financial gains that these sponsorships have potential to make the NBA, ranges from 1 to 20 million dollars a year. Is this a good or bad idea for the NBA or any other pro sport league?
Corporate logos on jerseys have many positive effects. One of them being the ...view middle of the document...
Silver also stated that putting corporate logos on the NBA jerseys would be a great business move for them. He said, “It makes good business sense.” The tradition of the current uniform design might keep people from purchasing new jerseys, but as the NBA already knows, with a new design it opens up a new market of fans and more money. Fans will always purchase what appeals to them and if jerseys like the EPL’s appeals, then it must be pursued.
As with a lot of things in business, there is a downside to sponsorships. One negative side would be if teams as a whole or an individual on the team were to violate team rules or NBA conduct. This will give that particular team a poor reputation as well as the sponsor. The sponsor could possibly lose credibility from fans, or from people who are already involved in their organization. They then have to contemplate whether or not they still want to be involved with that particular sport team. Another negative aspect of sponsorship would be team rivalries. For example, when the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers play against each other, each sponsorship is losing revenue. The Celtics sponsor is losing Laker fans, meaning they are losing the opportunity for...