The Lakers and the NBA to Introduce New Sponsored Jerseys

NBA Jerseys

A selection of current NBA jerseys

If you’re the type of sports fan that fast forwards through the DVR’d games you’ve got recorded, you can thank yourself for the new look of the NBA. Adam Silver, the NBA’s new commissioner, announced that the basketball leagues iconic jerseys are about to get a new look thanks to corporate sponsors. Until now, fan opposition broadcasting complications have kept logos and branding off of the Lakers’ and other teams’ jerseys, but due to new TV watching habits — namely commercial skipping — fans can expect to see changes in their favorite team’s uniforms.

While it might not seem like something new to fans of sports such as soccer (European football, or soccer, teams have been sporting corporate logos since 1979), but it wasn’t even until 2006 that American sports teams even entertained the thought and Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake City kicked off with new sponsored jerseys. Today, a team such as FC Barcelona can earn up to $25 million for a corporate logo placed on the inside of a jersey. Yes, a logo that would only be seen if an overzealous kicker made a goal and decided to shed his jersey post-goal. Today, none of America’s four major sports leagues, which span the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLS allow for corporate sponsorships on the main jerseys (they’re allowed on practice jerseys, for the time being), but it’s all about to change. 

“In this day and age of non-live programing where people are using their DVR and skipping through commercials it’s just that much more of an opportunity for our sponsors to get that much closer to our game,” said Silver in a radio interview. “To be close to our athletes.”

Media agency Horizon estimates that the value of the NBA’s most popular teams sporting logos could be upwards of $50 million, with the Los Angeles Lakers estimated to pull in as much as $4 million a year in sponsorships alone. Silver expects television ad rates to fall as sports viewers shift their viewing to recordings, which allows them to skip past pesky commercials. Silver also added that the plan to implement corporate sponsorships could happen in as few as five years. Silver hasn’t taken into consideration the social aspect of sports broadcasting, however, since rabid fans still congregate in front of their televisions to watch games live, as they’re happening. But until the statistics come in for this year’s games, expect to see a few extra logos on your favorite players in the coming seasons.

Images courtesy the NBA

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Author:Christopher Luu for Fashion Trends Daily

Christopher Luu is a Fashion Trends Daily Senior Writer and Menswear Editor.