The Cavaliers will receive more than $10M annually through their new uniform patch deal with Goodyear to "place its Wingfoot logo on new, Nike-designed team jerseys for the next three seasons," which "may be among the most lucrative" sponsorship deals in the NBA, according to sources cited by Joe Vardon of the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER. The arrangement also will involve Turner Sports (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 5/16). USA TODAY's Jeff Zillgitt notes the Cavs are the "sixth team to announce a patch deal," and agreements with other teams have "ranged from just under" $5M per season to $8M. The $10M annual value is the "highest in the NBA, in part because the Cavs are one of the league’s best teams and are on national TV more than most teams" (USA TODAY, 5/16). In Akron, Craig Webb in a front-page piece notes Goodyear and the Cavs are donating $1M -- $500,000 to each district -- for "science, technology, engineering and math programs in the Akron and Cleveland public schools." The announcement was made yesterday at Quicken Loans Arena as a Goodyear blimp "hovered over the Cleveland skyline with a Cavs logo on its side." Cavaliers CEO Len Komoroski said that the team "had a lot of suitors after the NBA announced last year that corporate sponsorship logos could be added to jerseys." But he added that "from the start ... Goodyear was the most attractive to the team and the players" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 5/16).
WHO'S IT HURTING? In Cleveland, Doug Lesmerises writes, "Let the Goodyear wingfoot logo on the Cavaliers jerseys next season serve as a start to the billboarding of professional athletes." Every "inch of free space on an NBA, MLB or NFL jersey is money lost." Lesmerises: "No one should object to any move aimed at making money that doesn't reach into the pockets of fans." Logos on uniforms "should serve as a constant reminder that money is made on every dribble, tackle and grounder" in American sports. There is "some public good, but it's a private enterprise." Lesmerises: "Make your money, team, then pay for stuff yourself. So bring on the ads -- on uniforms, on playing fields and courts, on bases, on backboards and in end zones. If you can see it, then it should be for sale" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 5/16).
