National Basketball League owners approved the sale of advertising space on team jerseys, which will appear as small patches beginning in the 2017-2018 season.
Each of the NBA’s 30 teams will be responsible for selling the sponsorships, according to a statement released by the NBA Board of Governors. The patches will be placed on the front left side of the jerseys, opposite the Nike brand logo — which took the place of Adidas as official uniform supplier.
“Jersey sponsorships provide deeper engagement with partners looking to build a unique association with our teams,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement, “and the additional investment will help grow the game in exciting new ways.”
The league will run the sponsorships during a three-year pilot program.
According to Bloomberg, the sponsorships will generate $150m annually for the league. ESPN reported that teams will keep 50 per cent of the advertising sales, while the other 50 per cent will be placed into a revenue-sharing pool to compensate for the differences in market sizes.
The NBA is the first of the four major US professional sports leagues to implement a sponsorship program on their jerseys.
