The 76ers have signed the NBA’s first jersey patch advertising deal, signing a three-year agreement with StubHub. The deal comes after NBA owners last month voted on a three-year pilot program to allow teams to sell a 2.5 inch by 2.5 inch ad patch on game jerseys, a decision that makes the NBA the first of the big four U.S. stick-and-ball leagues to sell non-apparel corporate advertising on game jerseys. The patch will appear on the jerseys for the start of the '17-18 season, when Nike replaces adidas with NBA uniform rights. StubHub in February signed a multiyear deal beginning in '16-17 with the 76ers, covering both primary and secondary tickets in a single transaction. It was then that StubHub began discussions with the team to buy the jersey patch inventory, once the league approved the measure. “It was part of the conversation,” said 76ers CEO Scott O’Neil. "We rolled it into the overall deal. There is value in being first. We like to be out front.” StubHub President Scott Cutler added, “We jumped at the opportunity to be the first. We knew the announcement was coming and sought to find a partner to be first“ (Lombardo & Lefton, Staff Writers). ESPN.com's Darren Rovell cites sources as saying that the team "has sold all three seasons at $5 million a year, with the option to extend the contract with StubHub should the league continue" to allow on-jersey advertising. Jerseys available for sale nationally "will not have the corporate sponsor logo on it." However, O'Neil said that the 76ers "will have jerseys at their team locations with a StubHub logo." He said, "We have a very strong opinion that little Scottie, who is 9 years old, will want to wear what the players are wearing on the court" (ESPN.com, 5/16).
RIGHT DANCING PARTNERS: Cutler said the jersey deal was separate from the company’s earlier ticketing deal with the 76ers. “This is a separate opportunity and the two things just happened to coincide. We are excited to be launch partners. I don’t anticipate us doing this with another team. Having our brand on the players where the performance is happening is actually where we want our brand to play.” Under the league’s new policy, the 76ers will keep half of the revenue with the other half split among the 30 NBA teams. The contract was signed and approved by the NBA this past weekend (Lombardo & Lefton). O'Neil this morning called StubHub an "incredible partner." He said, "They're leaders, they're endemic in the space, which is really helpful so you kind of get it when you see it. There’s no better place to buy tickets than StubHub, and so it fits. It’d be different if you had Doritos on there” ("Squawk Box," CNBC, 5/16). StubHub also had an "advertising patch on the 76ers' D-League team, the Delaware 87ers, this season" (AP, 5/16).
SPREADING THE WORD: To help spread the word on the new deal, the 76ers are planning a series of local PR stunts with the StubHub-branded jersey. At the National Constitution Center in Old City, more than 40 life-sized signers of the Declaration of Independence were adorned in 76ers/StubHub jerseys for photos. On Wednesday, an oversize mockup of the jersey will be rolled out on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which were made famous by the film "Rocky" (Lombardo & Lefton).
TWITTER REAX: Forbes.com’s Darren Heitner wrote of the partnership, “Sixers will earn millions per yr from StubHub jersey sponsorship & you won't care one bit. Major win for NBA teams.” The NDP Group's Matt Powell: “Imagine an NFL exec this morning: The Sixers got how much? The SIXERS?? Says here ads on NFL jerseys in 3 years.” Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Marek: “Let's all ridicule the NBA and pretend it won't happen in the NHL one day.” Meanwhile, some took a rather sarcastic route in talking about the deal, with Toronto-based CJCL-AM’s Greg Brady writing, “Going to be fascinating when an NBA team that will make the playoffs before 2021 announces their jersey sponsorship deal.” Charlotte-based WFNZ-AM’s Travis Hancock: “Knicks will be sponsored by AOL because both haven't been relevant since the mid 90s.”
