On Monday, the Cleveland Cavaliers became the sixth team to sell out and put advertisements on their uniforms. Now when you watch Lebron James dominate, he will have a Goodyear logo on his jersey. The team joins a short list of teams that features the Celtics, Kings, 76ers, Jazz and the Nets.
This is horrible for the game, and I’ll tell you why.
Is this an opportunity for the teams and the league to make extra revenue? Absolutely. But lets do some math.
The NBA makes around $7 billion in revenue per season. According to the league, these advertisements are projected to bring in $100 million. Yes, that is a lot of money. However, it is only a 1.4% increase in revenue. Is a few extra bucks worth jeopardizing the integrity and tradition of the game? Adam Silver seems to think so.
The NBA has a new TV deal, and is peaking in talent and popularity. The product on the floor is selling, and the humongous salary cap spike shows just how much money the league is now bringing in. So in one word, you could describe this move by the league as greedy.
This is one of the most pure examples of greed in professional sports.
https://twitter.com/KyleClauss/status/824290503369912323
This is happening next season. Let that soak in.
Adam Silver’s agenda is all wrong. He is focused on cracking down on players getting rest, which really should be up to the discretion of the coach. These teams do not choose which games are nationally televised. He is also in favor of solving the “Hack-a-Deandre” problem. Silver, why are you bailing poor free throw shooters out of having to learn perhaps the most basic fundamental in the game? But this takes the cake.
Sure, there are advertisements in sports such as NASCAR and soccer. But these are sports that do not yield much commercial time, so it is essential that these advertisements are in place so revenue can be earned. This is not the case in basketball. Putting ads on jersey is a horrible look for the league. It would not be too far-fetched to think that these ads could yield a decrease in fan turnout and jersey sales. Oh wait, advertisements will not be on jerseys sold in stores. Because the NBA knows fans are pissed.
The consumer is not happy. See for yourself:
Do you support advertisements on jerseys in the NBA?
— SportsTalkATL.com (@SportsTalkATL) May 16, 2017
Soon, likely every team will have an advertisement on their jersey. For the 78% of fans who do not approve, blame Adam Silver. Thanks for selling out.