There will be massive international conglomerates like GE. There will be ticket sellers such as Stub Hub. There will be almond growers. There will even be a charity logo.
A number of NBA teams will have an ad on its jerseys next season, and some seem to fit better than others. Maybe the best fit is the latest announcement: Disney on the Orlando Magic jerseys.
“With Orlando as our hometown, magic has always been a key strand of our DNA,” said Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins in a statement. “This expanded agreement with Disney brings our story full circle and represents the coming together of two dynamic organizations that have become synonymous with Orlando.”
“At Walt Disney World Resort, we naturally believe in all things magic and are happy to support our hometown team,” said George A. Kalogridis, president of Walt Disney World Resort in the same statement. “This long-term relationship symbolizes our shared focus of solidifying Orlando as a world class city for sports.”
Ads on NBA jerseys are new next season and will be fairly unobtrusive — did you notice the KIA ad on the All-Star jerseys last year? — and will be a small logo on the left shoulder. These Disney patches also will be on the jerseys sold to the general public through the team store, the Magic announced.
So far eight NBA teams have announced jersey sponsorship deal. Expect that to ramp up as the season nears (do you expect the owners to surrender that extra revenue?).