A long-term move towards a short-sleeve jersey, in contrast to the traditional tank-top style jersey that has represented the NBA for the past 63 years, while not initially popular among fans (at least on Twitter), would be just the change that NBA owners would need to better implement the sale of jersey space for team sponsor advertisements—similar to FIFA soccer jerseys.
NBA Commissioner David Stern has opposed the idea of selling ad space on jerseys, but he is one year away from sailing off into the setting sun.
Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver has in the past estimated that such sponsorships could be worth as much as $100 million per year, though sponsorship-evaluation company Joyce Julius & Associates pinned the actual value of the advertising at $157.5 million per season.
Considering that WNBA teams—such as the Phoenix Mercury—have already begun to sell jersey sponsorships (and factoring in Stern’s future departure) it seems only fair to surmise that a move toward a short-sleeve jersey would only be the beginning of such a trend in the NBA.
For now, we can only speculate what the future may hold, time will tell how things develop.
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Michael Brumagin is the “Tweet of the Day” columnist for Sheridan Hoops. You can follow him on Twitter.