NEW YORK – NBA owners on Thursday approved placing ads on jerseys, starting with the 2017-18 season when Nike becomes the official apparel provider for the league.
The patch, approximately 2 ½inches x 2½ inches with an ad will be on placed on the left shoulder area of the jersey, and Nike, which will become the league’s first apparel partner to have its logo on a game-day uniform, will be represented with a patch of the “swoosh” on the right shoulder during a three-year trial run.
“Jersey sponsorships provide deeper engagement with partners looking to build a unique association with our teams and the additional investment will help grow the game in exciting new ways,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “We’re always thinking about innovative ways the NBA can remain competitive in a global marketplace, and we are excited to see the results of this three-year trial.”
The jersey will look similar to the 2016 All-Star jerseys with the KIA logo on one shoulder and the Adidas logo on the other.
Teams are responsible for selling jersey sponsorships, the NBA said.
The jersey ads could generate approximately $150 million for the league and its teams, and that money will be shared with players under the rules of the 2011 collective-bargaining agreement.
Jerseys with sponsored patches “will not appear on the retail versions of the player jerseys but teams will have the option to sell the jerseys with sponsor patches in their own retail outlets,” according to the NBA.
