The NBA plans to explore the possibility of adding logos of corporate sponsors to jerseys of its teams.
ESPN reports that the league sent out a memo saying that the topic of placing ads on jerseys is expected to be discussed at the owners meeting in Toronto this weekend.
The NBA has discussed the possibility of adding ads to jerseys in the past, with commissioner Adam Silver estimating revenue from selling space on jerseys at $100 million.
The current proposal would call for 50 percent of ad sales to be kept by the team and the other 50 percent to go to a revenue sharing pool. That pool would be applied to the total Basketball Related Income pot, which would increase the salary cap and therefore allow more money to go to the players.
The proposal would call for one 2.5 x 2.5 inch logo on the upper left chest. The possibility of selling ads on jerseys had been considered before, but there was push back from the league’s broadcasting partners who would not be benefiting from the deal despite paying massive sums to televise games.
Any proposal would have to be approved by the NBA Board of Governors in April. Teams would be given a year to sell the spaces with ads not appearing on jerseys until the 2017-2018 season.
No major American professional sports league allows advertising on jerseys. The NFL does allow ads on practice jerseys, however.
