With a huge new TV rights deal, and the inevitability of ads on NBA players’ jerseys, New York Knicks big man Amar’e Stoudemire is concerned about potential conflicts of interest.
Advertisers will reportedly be able to buy space on players’ shirts starting with the 2017 All-Star Game.
Stoudemire says there could be problems between competing business interests of individual players and the League.
Per the NY Daily News:
“It all depends on the players,” Stoudemire said before Monday’s preseason home opener against the Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden. “A lot of players have endorsement deals. So it could be a conflict of interest, if you ask me. It depends on the company I’m in bed with. I could be endorsed by a company that’s not sponsored by the NBA, so that could be a conflict of interest.”
“Some guys got deals that are outside the NBA,” Stoudemire said. “You have an exclusive deal, which means you have to stay exclusive to that particular company.”
The Knicks’ Spanish-born point guard Jose Calderon, a veteran of the professional leagues in Europe, where advertising on jerseys is common, said he’s okay with corporate-sponsored logos on shirts — if it’s within the boundaries of good taste. […] “I’ve been doing that for a while now, in Europe and everywhere,” Calderon said on Monday. “I think it depends on how you treat the whole thing — if it’s a thousand stickers or one really nice sticker. I have no idea where it’s going to be but whatever the league decides I’m sure it’s going to be well thought out and will be the best for the league and the best for the players.”
