As most people know, the NBA plans on having sponsors… No! Let’s call it what it is: advertisment. The NBA plans to sell ad space on their jerseys. Some disturbing information for those who want to see the NBA’s uniforms staying clean came up in a recent survey on the NBA Fan Forum – a forum where the NBA allegedly asks fans for their opinions.
First, the League had a research that asked how fans felt about ads in their beloved teams uniforms. Assuming that survey went as bad for the NBA’s aspirations as the one that was quickly taken down from their homepage they changed the line of questioning.
Three weeks after the original survey, asking how fans felt about ads on jerseys, they changed their tune. Now, the NBA asked HOW BIG the ads could be, making it seem like ads on jerseys is a foregone conclusion.
Another interesting twist come with the pictures the NBA presented as examples. In those pictures, the NBA lago vanishes, making way for the adidas logo and, on the other side, the ad:
It’s not like the franchises need the money to survive. If you go by reports, in the first year of the new CBA, 20 teams are making a profit. It’s not like ticket, NBA LEague Pass, products prices will go down with ads.
The NBA loves to use soccer as an example. Soccer have sponsors for one main reason: TWO 45 MINUTES HALVES WITH NO BREAKS DURING EACH HALF.
Also, the NBA is the most forward thinking of the American leagues. If they profit enough, what is to stop the NFL and, eventually, the MLB to follow suit?
The NBA is the most international of American leagues. It’s already ingrained in the world’s culture. I urge those who care about sports and don’t want to see their teams turned into a NASCAR looking thing to keep emailing the deputy commissioner Adam Silver at asilver@nba.com - you can even copy and paste the e-mail I sent, here – and keep using the hashtag #NoUniAds on Twitter.
Let’s fight against this until the end.
Thank You. #NoUniAds
