In case everyone forgot, back in July the NBA temporarily approved the use of small advertisement patches (they later decided to hold off on this plan and take another look at it in the future) on in-game team jerseys starting with the 2013-14 season. As JR wrote for us back when the news hit “the terms seem to dictate a patch of 2 ½ inches-by-2 ½ on the chest, similar to the placement of the NBA Finals patch”.
Fast forward to last night’s 2013 NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Competition where all players wore a small Sprite branded “Slam Dunk” logo patch on the upper right corner of their regular team jerseys.
The sponsor branded patch worn by all Slam Dunk participants last night
Possibly a preview of what we’re to expect once this new revenue stream option is available to all 30 teams sometime soon? I’d think so, and if this absolutely HAS to happen, I’m fine with it being limited to what we saw last night.
Even this retro Vince Carter jersey wasn’t spared the sponsor patch
While obviously, as fans of uniforms, the last thing we all want is to see sponsors litter the in-game uniforms of the “Big 4″ sports leagues in North American, but if it absolutely has to happen are you satisfied with how the NBA did it last night? Share your thoughts in the poll and comments below:
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Chris Creamer is the founder of SportsLogos.Net and has been maintaining it since June 1997. You can follow him on Twitter at @sportslogosnet or contact him via email at ccreamer@sportslogos.net
Roger C.
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 13:51Go hard or go home. I'd prefer European soccer style jerseys.
Ryan
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 13:55I hate soccer and I no long enjoy the nba. and the ads certainly arent helping the cause so i guess i either hate it or i dont care
John M. McCorquadale
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 13:58as long as adds stay off baseball, hockey, and football jerseys than im okay with this
Alec Johnson
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 14:03Uh-ohh
Ben Jacobson
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 14:06I absolutely hate this. It's a freaking joke of another shameless moneygrab by the NBA and its pathetic. I never thought any of the 4 "big leagues" would stoop to this level but if i had to predict which one it would be it probably would have been the NBA.
Jimmy
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 14:16I agree with you, it is a shameless plug, they should be hurting for money, and if they are, maybe they can start by not paying slugs like Charlie Villanueva $8 mil a season. Long as the MLB and NFL doesn't do it, I'm fine. The NBA is garbage, used to be my favorite sport growing up in the 90s.
Aaron
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 19:32Well the NFL already has the Nike sponsor on their jerseys and MLB having Majestic. But difference is, those adds are small enough not to ruin the jerseys. As mentioned before, if the NBA can copy those aspects, no big deal.
Justin
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 19:11Those (Nike and Majestic) aren't really ads though. They're the logo of the brand that makes the jerseys, which, to me, is a completely different story.
Jimmy
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 20:05Yeah you can't compare the manufacturer's logo to this, I actually like the Nike logo on the NFL and college jerseys, plus it's sports related. Why don't the NBA just let Adidas put their logo on the jersey? Problem solved. Ask Adidas to pony up some extra money to put their logo on the jerseys.
Reincarnation of Einstein
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 15:01This isn't cool at all. This just means within the next decade, every team will have ads on their jerseys and the worst team in the league will get relegated to the minors each year. Hooray.
Jimmy Kemp
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 14:11I'll be finished with the NBA if they do this, I'm already a fringe NBA fan, having been a huge NBA fan in the 90s growing up, this will be the icing on the cake. Long as MLB and the NFL don't do it, I'm fine.
Jimmy
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 14:13I'll be finished with the NBA if they do this, I'm already a fringe NBA fan, having been a huge NBA fan in the 90s growing up, this will be the icing on the cake. Long as MLB and the NFL don't do it, I'm fine.
Matt
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 14:13This idea was tabled: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8551120/nba-puts-decision-placing-ads-jerseys
Chris Creamer
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 11:26Wow, not sure how I missed that news, must have been on vacation that week! Updated the story, thanks. I still think we're going to see this happen in the next five seasons, once they figure out the issues with the exclusive-brand contracts some players have.
Matt
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 19:34Thanks. I got this info from Uni Watch/Paul Lukas, who has been keeping close tabs on the situation.
Jimmy Kemp
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 14:18http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8551120/nba-puts-decision-placing-ads-jerseys
ingmar66
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 14:32Sad moment, I used to be a big NBA fan back in the 80's and 90's... The NBA plummets to euro soccer style standards. This is so bush league. The next thing will be renaming the teams with a sponsor instead of the city or state name: Taco Bell Spurs, Lucas Oil Mavericks, Staple Lakers. With big logos, incorporating the team sponsor logo. This is just the beginning. And they will get away with it, as the average NBA fan does not understand basketball at all (and does not care about it): all they want is circus-like dunks and scripted games, WWF style.
Timothy A Reeder
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 14:34oh no! that tiny little patch i would have hardly noticed if it hadn't been pointed out to me has completely ruined the game.
Johnathan Ramirez
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 15:01What is this soccer, don't do that
Joe Barbeau
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 15:42It's time.
Koozee Kingdom
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 16:22I guess it won't be long before we see Sportslogos.net patches on the Raptors uni's. ;) Putting patches on uniforms is no more irritating than corporate names on sports venues and college bowl games. Just wait until the balls/pucks start saying Tampax all over them. Then we've got issues.
Sam
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 17:39I guess I'll be the first to say it: I did notice those ads, but in the context of the general sponsorships, I didn't notice them. If that ends up being what the NBA does with ads, that won't bother me. What would bother me is if they do the "Los Angeles Farmer's Insurance Group" and "Phoenix Lifelock" things that the WNBA does with their uniforms.
Bryan
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 17:41Logos on NBA uniforms wouldn't matter anyways. The NBA is going downhill with the dunk contest and slowly losing interest. It would take Lebron entering with Blake Griffin to put legitimacy back into the contest. College basketball is such a better game overall
wolfgangII
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 14:13Altought I think the contest this year was OK. I was thinking that all the epic dunk contest I remember were between great players at their time (Jordan, Wilkins, Webb, Carter). Lebron, Griffin, Westbrook, Iguodala, Nate Robinson and Glen Davis definitly should play it. Instead of just being showing off his sunglasses.
justin
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 18:05The only reason I have a problem is that people spend so much money to buy replica jerseys and now they will either be paying to promote a brand by wearing their jersey or they will not match what the players are playing in.
Damon Selman
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 03:08I wonder if jersey sales will plummet with the advertisements. It should! There will be a major run on people buying the old (clearance sale?) advertisement free jerseys in 2013.
Aaron
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 18:46If they can keep the sponsor patch like that or smaller, likely nobody will notice it very much from a distance. What would be better is if they were the same colour as the jerseys themselves.
Toby Faber
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 18:50NASCAR and INDY racers have long worn ads all over their cars and uniforms, so why not all the rest? Time marches on.
Allan Davenport
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 19:32What they need to do is get rid of those crappy black socks and go back to the old school style which is plain old white or white with the team colored stripe with the NBA Logo....
Aaron
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 19:34However if they made the ads like the CFL, AHL do which I can't believe they'd get away with oversized ads, then we have a problem.
James
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 19:39Why are they pointing out ONLY the patches on the jerseys of the participants of the slam dunk contest? Didn't anyone else notice that the participants of the skills challenge and three point shootout ALSO had patches on their jerseys too? They've been doing this for a few years now.
Chris Creamer
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 11:24Because that was the only event I watched :P
madpanda
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 23:09I don't mind them being on sponsored events such as the ones on NBA All-Star Weekend, but definitely not on actual in-game jerseys. I doubt the NBA is hurting for money--if they are, contraction would solve that problem nicely. I definitely would not want to see ads coming to baseball uniforms. I'm burnt enough that my beloved Mets play in "Citi" Field, and have a scoreboards that are ad-infested (front AND back).
A. Santos
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 23:27If I'm not mistaken, they've been doing this for the past couple of years. They've been putting the ads for each contests sponsor.
SouthstanderRSM
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 00:17I hope they change their minds and ditch thr ads.
Brent
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 08:56Its not a matter of if, but WHEN. And when ads are placed on the NBA uniform, every franchise should immediately fire their entire marketing department for being unsuccessful at marketing the franchise. There's a reason the team name/city is on the uniform, and that's to sell & market a professional sports team. That's what they need to be promoting, not a third-party company.
Taylor
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 10:38Just don't put the patches on the replicas, please.
François
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 11:52I tell you, the future is close where you'll see the same thing on hockey jerseys. The LCF's team all have a RONA logo on their jerseys! Now, the NBA is starting to do it! Slowly but surely, once it's gonna be a regular thing, the NHL will follow! Then the owners will tell us that it's gonna be a way to lower down the tickets prices which, eventually, will stay the same! François Montréal
Aaron
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 12:42Don't the NHL jerseys have Rbk or Nike somewhere on their jerseys? And the CFL jerseys also have Reebok on their jerseys. They should take the NFL example and just leave it as Reekbok instead of putting RONA on their jerseys. And it's not just RONA on their jerseys either. AHL, CFL and ECHL teams take note. Get rid of those oversized ads. You're not a billboard or even Euro Soccer.
Rob S.
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 12:45Having the name of a jersey manufacturer is not the same as corporate logos.I have seen that defense mentioned in a few articles/commets on the web...Adidas,Reebok,CCM.. look cool,they made the uniform,it is their product. Once in awhile, like in the NHL there have been charity patches for like one game.but aving corporate logos at this level looks so ridiculous and cheap.I agree the size of the patches proposed is not a huge deal,but who wants to look at some corporate logo on a player,which will be very noticeable on TV. I wonder if some corporations will sponser multiple teams?,just a joke all the way around.Not a good marriage.NBA is a greedy enity!
wolfgangII
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 14:18Hey, when you have this type of uniforms (and replicas sales jereseys) you can complain on how add placements is cheap and tasteless. For your information, the team´s logo is the little shield under the neck-collar. https://www.google.com.mx/search?q=atlante+jaguares&hl=es&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=p30iUeX6Koi9iwKy74HYBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=641#imgrc=FHgLmysTC6k-WM%3A%3BAbFgMy5hqK3mTM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Feuro.mediotiempo.com%252Fmedia%252F2012%252F08%252F10%252Fjaguares.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.mediotiempo.com%252Ffutbol%252Fmexico%252Fnoticias%252F2012%252F08%252F10%252Fjaguares-1-2-atlante-el-jaguar-se-topo-con-paredes-y-se-partio-en-casa%3B600%3B400
wolfgangII
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 14:20I honestly, don´t think this gonna work. The add is to small to see it. No company will pay if their name can be easily spot. Or they make it bigger (soccer style) or not use them.
Angel Barragan
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 16:31If it like that I don't have problem seeing ads on the uniform as long as they don't do it WNBA styles
Justin
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 19:26My question is, why does soccer get a free pass on this? Granted, euro soccer is euro soccer, they're gonna do what they're gonna do over there but if the MLS ever wants to have a shot at crossing over into mainstream America they've got to get rid of the sponsors and put the team name and/or logo on the front of the uni's.
Griffin
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 20:05They've been doing this with the competition patches on the jerseys for a few years now. This isn't something new.
Edward K
Tuesday, February 19, 2013 at 12:30Was about to say the same thing
musyarofah
Wednesday, February 20, 2013 at 01:18GAAAHH!! KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!