If it seems like I'm contradicting myself by blogging about the NBA, you can thank David Stern. Some of the guy's statements/decisions are so stupid that I can't help myself. Take today for example. The NBA is going to allow advertisements on jerseys starting next year. Seriously? When did we move to Europe?
Advertisements on jerseys, of course, are nothing new. Every European soccer team has its jersey sponsor, which is the team's main source of revenue. That has extended to other sports and even national teams around the world. Not in North America, though. The North American major sports leagues have resisted the urge to make a little extra money in this way. (Stadium naming rights, for the most part, take care of the revenue stream that jersey sponsors in Europe cover.) That's one of the quaint little traditions of professional sports in the U.S. that is most endearing. You're not going to see any cheesy company name where the team's name and logo should be.
MLS opened up this whole can of worms when it started allowing jersey sponsors a few years ago. This didn't ruffle any feathers, though, mainly because it's soccer and that's what everybody's used to. Frankly, soccer jerseys look kind of weird without some sort of ad on the front. Then the WNBA got in on the act and nobody seemed to notice. Or care. Or both.
For both MLS and the WNBA, allowing jersey sponsors made sense. The franchises in those two leagues, the WNBA especially, don't generate anywhere near as much revenue from tickets, TV, etc., as the Big Four. They're wisely tapping into a vast source of potential revenue. You've even got some teams (like the Connecticut Sun) that are named after their primary sponsor. One of the reasons Stern gave for allowing jersey ads in the NBA next season is that it could generate as much as $100 million in additional revenue. When the NBA start needing to find ways to make extra money?
Bud Selig immediately came out and said that you're not going to see corporate logos on Major League Baseball uniforms anytime soon. His argument was the historical importance of baseball uniforms. Iconic uniforms like those of the Yankees, Cubs and Red Sox have been the same for generations. Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter wore the same uniform. That's not insignificant to Yankees fans. If some corporation's logo was suddenly on the sleeve, more than a few people would be upset. (For the record, every Major League team except for the Yankees has a little Majestic logo on the left sleeve, as well as the MLB logo on the back.)
There's really no place for the NFL to put corporate logos, so we're probably safe there, too. (In the CFL, they put logos literally everywhere on the field. The next time you watch a CFL game, count how many advertisements are between the 50s. They put advertisements on the jerseys, too, but they only have room for small ones.) The NFL couldn't use the revenue thing as an excuse, either. They had a lockout to fight over $8 billion last year. Nobody's going to believe that NFL teams are short on cash.
The NHL's the one I'm worried about following suit, though. Junior leagues and professional leagues elsewhere have advertisements going all the way up and down both sleeves on the jerseys. Since the NHL is No. 4 among the Big Four, I don't think it's much of a leap to see them considering this. Perhaps the only saving grace is that hockey fans are the same as baseball fans when it comes to tradition. If the "C-h" logo of the Montreal Canadiens was suddenly replaced by a corporate logo, more than a few fans would have something to say about it. The NHL also has the ability to offer a sponsor putting its logo on a prominent place on the ice.
Not only do I think David Stern made a bad decision by allowing corporate sponsors to put their logos on NBA jerseys, I think he made a narrow-minded one. All he sees is the money that can be made. The potential sponsors are obviously going to eat it up, too. They'll love the exposure of being associated with an NBA team. But is it necessary? I highly doubt it.
More importantly, tradition should count for something. Unfortunately, David Stern and the NBA owners are more concerned about the almighty dollar.
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