Finally, the Philadelphia 76ers are finishing first at something. The NBA team is the first in the league to have sponsors on their jerseys.
After the NBA announced that ads would become featured on team jerseys in April, the first squad to make it happen are the Sixers with their partnership with StubHub.
Per NBA:
The Philadelphia 76ers and StubHub announce the first jersey patch sponsorship among major sports leagues in American history, making the Sixers the first NBA team to declare a jersey sponsor. The StubHub patch will feature the brand’s recently launched new logo and appear on the front left of Sixers’ game jerseys starting in the 2017-18 season. On April 15, 2016 the NBA Board of Governors approved the sale of jersey sponsorships as part of a three-year pilot program. Starting in the 2017-18 season StubHub’s jersey patch will be included on all jerseys sold at Sixers’ home games.
The announcement is the first realization that this is a real thing. For years NBA team jerseys have become simpler in design and some have even featured sleeves for what many perceived as the set-up for ads on jerseys. When official automotive NBA sponsor KIA had their ads showcased on the 2016 All-Star Game jerseys it pretty much set the stage for what we have now.
Each NBA team is allowed to pitch potential advertisers to purchase a 2.5-inch-by-2.5-inch space on their jerseys. Ads on jerseys have been in professional soccer for years, but now the NBA becomes the first of the major four sports leagues in America to adopt the practice.
Ads on jerseys will debut during the 2017-18 season.
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