A lot of Americans don’t usually venture outside the bubble of the four major sports leagues: the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL, but those who do have probably seen corporate sponsors on team jerseys. It’s extremely common in soccer, and of course everyone knows that Nascar cars are covered in corporate logos. So why not the NBA?
NBA owners met last week to discuss adding sponsorships to their jerseys and being the first of the “Big 4” to break the barrier. Apparently there were mixed reviews with some owners hoping that it never happens and some hoping to see the new style of uniforms next season.
NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver says it’s time the NBA joined the rest of the world.
“If we add sponsor logos to jerseys, we recognize that some of our fans will think we’ve lost our minds,” said Silver. “But the N.B.A. is a global business and logos on jerseys are well established in other sports and commonplace outside the U.S.”
I don’t really have a problem with logos on jerseys as long as it doesn’t become the main focal point of the uniform. If you watch Premier League soccer, you know that you can’t even see the name of the team on the jerseys, you just see the sponsor. I’d hate to see that in the NBA.
Or even worse, if the corporations were somehow able to take over the team names, that would be awful. If we suddenly had the Chicago Red Bulls or the Los Angeles Land O’ Lakers or the Orlando Magicjacks, I think that would be embarrassing, for the NBA as well as America.
I can understand both sides of the argument. NBA jerseys have never been touched by corporate greed, and letting them in just a little bit could open the floodgates and lead to something that nobody wants to see. It’s something that will definitely have to be closely montiored going forward, but it’s not the worst idea in the world.
It may be time to move past the traditional line of thinking and make a little extra cash, but let’s definitely not go crazy. There is a little bit of integrity that needs to be preserved here, and if this is done the wrong way, it could be a disaster.
