NBA taking lead from soccer on shirt advertising

NBA teams will begin displaying small sponsor logos on their jerseys starting in the 2017-18 season and many fans are unhappy.

One sure way to rub many fans of traditional American sports the wrong way is to do something that “interferes” with those traditions. Things like the designated hitter rule were met with disdain, as were instant replay in the NFL and even the three-pointer in NCAA and NBA basketball. Put it simply, Americans, and sports fans in general are not big fans of change.

This is especially the case when the news about the new NBA jerseys sponsors dropped with two of the league’s older franchises in the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers signing deals with General Electric and StubHub respectively.

Both teams, along with the Sacramento Kings, will begin displaying small logos on the shoulder straps of their jerseys that are edited to match the team’s color scheme. The league tested this concept out with the WNBA but the logos were emblazoned across the chest the way they are on most soccer kits.

Soccer fans may take a look at these logos and wonder what all the fuss is about. These logos fit almost seamlessly with the jerseys and go almost unnoticed especially compared to some of the monstrosities we have seen on European soccer jerseys like this one from Getafe and Burger King.

Most teams go to great lengths to make sure the sponsor logos do not overpower the shirt itself but some smaller clubs do not have that sort of leverage to dictate terms with sponsors. Other continents, most notable South America, have allowed their jerseys to become littered with advertisements which would be a nightmare for most American fans.

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As for the NBA teams, they have all the leverage they need as this is such a new concept and sponsors are just happy to be there. As for many fans, they see this as an affront to the purity of the game and traditions. They believe that players should only represent the team or city and not an advertiser with no links to the city or its fanbase. The irony of course is that the jersey suppliers themselves have been using these teams as walking billboards for years across all sports.

With the at home sports-watching experience getting better, cheaper, and more immersive because of new technology and streaming services, leagues are seeing smaller crowds but higher TV ratings. With the falling attendance rates, teams are looking for different revenue streams and the NBA is allowing their teams to go somewhere no major sports league has gone with the exception of Major League Soccer.

Diversifying these revenue streams should theoretically allow NBA teams to make tickets cheaper for fans to come out and see their favorite teams in person or to decrease the number of television advertisements to help games flow quicker but that is unlikely. Sports are a business above all else and this is simply a new way for owners and the league to make money.

Many American fans may not like it but it is just a fact of life for soccer fans around the world. Eventually the advertisements on the jerseys just blend in and fans are more concerned with what the players are doing on the field or court rather than what they are wearing anyway.

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It will become normal once fans get used to it and more and more teams will hop on board if the initial run is successful. There is some simmering discontent but one thing is for sure though, if NBA players start to look like NASCAR drivers we may have a full scale revolution on our hands.