Thursday, July 30th, 2009 at 9:45 am  |  89 responses

Cash-Strapped NBA to Sell Ads on Jerseys

You knew this day was coming, sooner than later: “Beginning this season the NBA will let teams sell ads on their practice jerseys, says deputy commissioner Adam Silver, who adds the league is continuing to explore the issue of ads on game jerseys. ‘We are operating a diverse business all around the world,’ Silver says. ‘(The sponsored game jersey) is a well-established practice in other countries. Ultimately, I think our fans will come to accept it.’”

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  • Izzo

    Teddy:OK, you’re stupid so I’ll put it this way, a leagues business decisions has absolutely nothing to do with the actions of it’s fans, so I was pointing out how the two things had nothing to do with each other, but you’re stupid.

  • JC

    Fredd,

    de tout façon pour les maillots authentic, si il y a des sponsors et si cela change souven,t, ça sera très dure de suivre financièrement.

    Je me vois mal chaque année acheter 2 ou 3 maillots de lebron james, kobe bryant etc à 150 $ le maillot.

  • http://www.myspace.com/freedmusic fredd

    tout à fait … ça deviendrait ridicule …. ce qui est bon avec les maillots nba c’est la portée historique, dans le temps etc ….
    j’espere vraiment qu’ils ne vont pas craquer !

    … come on guys …. you can accept a historic Celtics or Lakers jersey with an ad on it ?!
    i would be interested to see the result of a vote on this thing ….

  • JC

    Rav : I agree that the color of the home jersey of liverpool and real madrid don’t change every year , and there are nice jerseys cos they don’t heve a lot of ads on it.
    But the problem is every time the ads changed, the deign of the jersey change. Today if you are a fan of real madrid : the jersey of raul (for example) is a little bit different from 5 years ago cos the ads have changed.
    In american sports, if you bought a duncan jersey 3 years ago, the jersey is still the same today.
    I think it will be very hard financially for the fans to buy every year a new authentic jerseys of their favorite player (it will be even harder if you want to buy a lot of authentics) at 150$ each.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    Izzo: Okay dumb@ss, you were saying how a PHD Math Professor and p!ssing in the bed has nothing to do with teaching, just like how Soccer and Racism apparently has nothing to do with endorsements. Again, that’s a stupid analogy. Your explanation has nothing to do with what I was saying. Thanks for playing though, sh!tbird.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    LMAO @ edmalhas. Hahaha good one man.

  • Coast

    Ads on practice and game jerseys means more revenue to maintain profit for owners, player salaries and ticket prices that will stay the same as long as teams can generate the money elsewhere (why would they have the incentive to lower prices). The fans don’t gain anything here.

  • Coast

    Example of how absurd this can get: Manchester United is sponsored by AIG.
    The biggest club in football is sponsored by the biggest corporate thieves of 2008, who plundered your (US, I’m in Canada) tax dollars (what’s left of them). AIG is still signed on to promote Man U. Now that the US government is part owner that means the US taxpayers are sponsoring the Man U team.

  • Izzo

    Teddy: Ok, I don’t know why I’m even replying to one of the trolls who are responsible for the deterioration of the site but okay, I was pointing that the racism in soccer is no reason not to accept sponsorship in jerseys, it’s called humour and exaggeration. Of course, it wasn’t a d*ck joke so you didn’t get. Now back to keeping an eye on the corner flags, professor.

  • Coast

    All that being said, there are some ugly jerseys in the NBA. Hopefully they don’t get uglier. Some toning down of the colour schemes of jerseys would be nice whether or not ads are sold on them. Imagine some of the awful combinations with sponsors and team colours.

    I don’t mind this being done on practice jerseys, in fact I wish there was some cheap team practice jersey gear in stores.
    If sneakers cost $150 I don’t see why this surprises anyone on this board.
    Screw the sneaker prices and screw the jerseys. Just don’t buy any, don’t buy tickets.

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    If they want to see how well it’s accepted (in basketball circles) – Just look at the Australian NBL product…. we got the “Adelaide PURA milk 36ers”…no one is wearing that jersey. The Townsville Crocodiles are sponsored by McDonalds – all you see on the jersey is some green lizard and the golden arches!
    Don’t grafitti the holy clean backdrop that is a players jersey and number.

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com Blinguo

    These guys aren’t Nascar cars/Funny Drag cars, or international teams. Hell, you couldn’t be allowed to put a swoosh on the shoulder or a Reebok vector for a few years even when the company makes the jerseys. Some don’t even like adidas’ 3-stripes being incorporated into every design on game worn gear now(warm ups/shooting shirts, break away pants). Team USA’s no Pepsi/Chevron gas logos were always solid and they are the best looking especially next to that Visa Argentina one Lang or someone said was like looking at an 80′s hairband album cover and lightning font. No Adam Silver. The fans won’t accept it. Get (more) revenue another way for the NBA, from better marketing ideas. Don’t follow the Goldenpalace-dot-com paint/tattoo boxing fiasco format.

  • Tom

    noooooo! dont sell the soul of the NBA! i will become strictly a college hoops fan the day i see a wal mart or mcdonalds ad on any teams jersey.

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com Blinguo

    At least I can think not many sponsors really have money to spend on niche things like this anymore in this economy, stimulus help or not. And really the only people watching practice are like a few VIP season ticket holder fans every once in a while, and the media guys most every time they want a look in right? So you media types can just say no and or ignore such stuff since they’re selling junk you don’t need by billboarding practice jerseys which you aren’t really there to look at to do your work. Don’t write about it either other than in passing mention, since that’s more free advertising to all your readers, a company name or product shilled out a second time-from their initial investment on the jerseys.

  • Krishan

    If this post was just izzo and teddy commenting back and forth, it will be triumphant

  • Krishan

    Now to contribute, I’m pretty conflicted: should I choose the jerseys be muddled by corporate logos, or have the league go under because holy sh!t I never realized running the NBA necessitated large amounts of cash! I mean really it’s a very hard decision.

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    We talking about practice…jerseys?

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    get paided less to play a sport. easy as that.

  • Josh D

    I think it’s good that they’re only limiting it 2 practice jerseys, my favourite club in Britain has loads of ads on their jersey, its kinda ridiculous

  • http://www.mynameinblue.blogspot.com Hisham

    Izzo: it kinda was a dick joke. a little bit

  • http://www.myspace.com/freedmusic fredd

    hey …. in fact they just have to start to realize they don’t need Billions to play a sport ….. the story is the same all a round the world now …. money money money and if possible … more money …. but .. we just have one life a the time …. why so much money ? for what ? be happy to play a sport, do what you like to do, make other human beings dream a lil and that’s it ….. i say this cos’, … .the players are also concerned … with their big contracts ….

  • rav

    @JC – nba teams do usually change there jerseys fairly often – not as much as a european soccer team but usually every 5-8 years or so they make subtle changes (like the bulls, lakers and celtics who’ve made subtle changes to the fonts in recent years) or very significant ones (t’wolves, magic, raptors where they made wholesale changes in the last 3 years or so), and of course the NBA do one-off jerseys that they wear for maybe a game or two (the st paddys day green jerseys, toronto’s ‘italian’ jersey from a few years ago, the ‘el heat’/'los spurs’ ones from last year)

  • danthephxman

    Here in Aus, we sell advertising on everything basketball – arena’s, the floor, the paint, the jersey’s. I think it cheapens the look of the brand of ball. This, in my mind, ads to the lustre and appeal of the NBA. Hopefully the NBA look past this as an option.

  • Matt

    who gives a crap about practice jerseys haha

  • rav

    @coast – re: man u/aig deal – AIG paid the bulk of that deal in advance and by the time that they collapsed they had already paid man u for the duration of the sponsorship contract (4 years i think) so they are perfectly entitled to have their name on man uniteds jersey

  • Soundproof

    Hell NO! I won’t wear a jersey with American Airlines or Toyota on it!

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com Blinguo

    The league’s not going under anytime soon Krishan. Has anyone seen the salary cap + what Orlando and the Lakers have done with their next season’s salary above that cap? Other sources of profit are out there which don’t whore out the players when you want to whore out the league to the highest bidder. Have someone sponsor Andre Aldridge and Craig Sager’s suit before this. Sorry David Aldridge and Ahmad, and Gary and Chris, you know its a business – so you have to get some stickers on your suits too!

  • LA Huey

    Ken said it best.

  • Coast

    @rav – Re: ManU/AIG deal
    Yes I agree they (AIG) have every right to sponsor a team. Even if most of the deal was paid in advance there was still some leftover payments to be made, but regardless of that point. My problem isn’t with a company sponsoring a jersey.
    AIG didn’t just implode in 2008. They practiced risky behaviour financially for at least several years. And they knew and played up that they “were too big to fail”. Meaning “the US taxpayers are there covering our backs”.
    Yes they were a private company when they paid for the sponsorships but the US taxpayers were on the hook for a bit of the deal with ManU by the time 2008 and 2009 came around. I’m just saying it looks ridiculous now.
    Advertising on the ManU jersey is probably one of the premium bilboards out there, and it’s owned by a company “too big to fail that dragged down many Americans and their safe investments by at least 25-30%”.
    The AIG sponsorship on ManU shirts should just say “FU” to all of us.

  • http://ballislife.com Moose

    We all know the NBA are wh0res. They sell everything. As a matter of fact, make it all pro sports. I don’t know how many of you guys know this, but the Chicago White Sox start their home night games at 7:11 because 7/11 bought that. It sickens me. People won’t see the practice jerseys, but Stern better know not to cross the line. He’s toeing it at the moment.

  • Coast

    @Moose – Re: White Sox game starting time – That’s incredible. Incredibly sad. I feel bad for White Sox fans even if it isn’t that noticeable.

    If people don’t see the practice jerseys why would companies buy ad space on them? Unless its just a test for game jerseys?

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    LOL @ Izzo: Right, I contribute to the deterioration of the site. You b!tch every time Eboy doesn’t agree with you, then you complain about how good “the old days” were on a freaking website forum. And your comments as AR are stupid too. Telling us how all how bad the “Commies” are on a Yao Ming post. Maybe that soccer/racism sh!t offended you because you’re European; next time just say so, instead of making stupid analogies and trying to instigate your rendition of an “E-Beef”.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    Anyways, I don’t think the NBA should do this. Practice jerseys maybe, but if this moves on to game jerseys, we might as well watch Shaq and the Big Show instead of Shaq and LeBron. Why even have an NBA draft, why not just have an “NBA Rookie Auction” while we’re at it?

  • JJ

    Clay – all basketball leagues do it except the NBA.

  • Harrell

    This is bull

  • aL

    NBA jerseys looking like Euroleague jerseys!?!?!?so d*amn f*cking ugly!!

  • digga

    the corporatocracy is screwing up kids heads enough already..
    this is a sport.. it symbolizes what is right with the world, healthy competition.. we should be fully against this..

  • rikson

    OK, OK – I get it! You dont like soccer and its fans, but – KIDS – lets be serious, that has nothing to do with sponsored jerseys – GEEEZZ…

  • rikson

    And – for the love of god – you should be angry with the players not the corporations! The Industry was probably trying to do this since the NBA was introduced, but those unbelievable and unjustifiable player wages are making it hard for franchises to stay in black numbers -> THANK YOU Sideshow Bob…

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