The NBA’s jersey patch experiment has been a success for the league, generating more than $150MM in new revenue, per a report from Terry Lefton and John Lombardo of SportsBusiness Journal (hat tip to RealGM). According to Lefton and Lombardo, uniform sponsorship deals to date have ranged in value from about $5-20MM per year, but executives expect that number to increase in value when it’s time to renew agreements.
“Like most teams, we’re heading towards renewal thinking these are worth substantially more, because the impression numbers have been so good,” Bucks president Peter Feigin said.
While the NBA will look to extend the program, there’s no demand to increase the size of the patches beyond their current dimensions (2.5-by-2.5 inches), league and team officials tell Lefton and Lombardo.
Currently, 29 of the league’s 30 teams have sponsored patches on their jerseys, with the Thunder representing the lone holdout so far. The full list of sponsors by team can be found right here.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- NBA coaching hopeful – and longtime guard – Mike Bibby is under investigation after being accused of sexual abuse and harassment by a teacher at Shadow Mountain High School, according to Lily Altavena of The Arizona Republic. Bibby recently coached the school’s basketball team to its fourth consecutive state title, but has been removed from his position following these allegations, Altavena writes in a separate story.
- The BIG3 has added another former NBA starter to its player pool, announcing this week (via Twitter) that Charlie Bell will participate in the 3-on-3 league this season. A one-time Michigan State standout, Bell appeared in 376 total regular season NBA games between 2001-11, primarily as a member of the Bucks.
- Another former NBA player, Carlos Delfino, has a new team in Italy, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, who passes along word that the veteran forward has officially signed with Fortitudo Bologna. Delfino had a contentious exit from his former team, Fiat Torino, earlier in the season.
- In an entertaining Insider-only article for ESPN.com, Chris Herring, Bobby Marks, and Kevin Pelton ranked the NBA’s top 25 players under the age of 25. Giannis Antetokounmpo tops the list, followed by Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns, Ben Simmons, and Luka Doncic.
Interesting source about the patches, and I was relieved to see there is some other way besides making the patches bigger, for the rich to get richer. (They can put the patches on a higher percentage of merchandise.) So we’re safe from embarrassing Euro-soccer type jerseys for a while longer.
A different article, same source, about TV ratings:
“Not surprisingly, the country’s biggest local ratings drop-off is in Cleveland, where Cavs games on FS Ohio are down 56 percent compared to last year when LeBron James played for a team that made the NBA Finals. Conversely, James’ new team, the Los Angeles Lakers, has seen its games on Spectrum SportsNet jump by 42 percent. . .
“National games are down 18 percent on TNT and 17 percent on NBA TV. ABC is down 3 percent, and ESPN is flat. . .
“James’ move to the West Coast has specifically hurt the TV numbers for the early game doubleheader windows, which has had a healthy dose of James throughout his career in East Coast time zones Cleveland and Miami. Plus, James has missed 20 games this season because of injury, which has negatively affected national network games. . .
“The revitalized Nuggets have posted an 85 percent jump. . .”
That is why he is the King, he brings the punters!
Delfino that lucky SOB. Bologna, and the Emiglia-Romano area of Italy imo has the best food I’ve ever had. Home of that good ol’ pasta Bolognese, parmesan cheese and tortellini. Mmmm