Sponsors on NBA Jerseys Set to Reap Major Financial Benefits if Plan Approved

A new study has revealed brand exposure for sponsored jerseys will reach $160 million if the NBA moves ahead with it’s plans to allow corporate sponsor logos on the front of its jerseys for the 2013-14 season.

That could bring a new demand for the proposed 2.5-inch jersey sponsorship logos that could land on teams such as the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls or Dallas Mavericks.

“The large number of broadcast hours devoted to the NBA each year coupled with the projected visibility of the jersey logos during those telecasts obviously makes this a very desirable piece of sponsorship real estate from a brand recognition standpoint,” said Eric Wright, president and executive director of research for Michigan-based Joyce Julius & Associates, in a written statement.

There would be added exposure opportunity through photos appearing in print articles and the Internet, along with video highlights, he said.

The NBA tested the idea with a league-branded patch during the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder five-game series in June. The patch garnered an average of five minutes, 41 seconds of close-up camera time per team, per game.

That television exposure equates into nearly 16 hours of on-screen time for the patch during a regular season. For highly-desired NBA teams, this could push the exposure value to $6 million to $8 million for a season.