On Monday, almost exactly one month after NBA owners voted to add 2.5 inch-by-2.5 inch advertising patches to the front of jerseys starting with the 2017-18 NBA season, the 76ers announced they are the first team to land a deal with an advertiser. According to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, the Sixers and online ticket marketplace StubHub have reached a three-year deal worth approximately $5 million per year that will call for StubHub patches to appear on the front of Sixers’ jerseys. 76ers CEO Scott O’Neil told ESPN why the team chose to act quickly when it came to finding a jersey sponsor.
“We are about being first, being different, being innovative, and getting to market as quickly as we can,” O’Neil said. “We’re thrilled that the NBA has decided to be an innovator among the major sports leagues in this country, we’re happy that we will be beneficiaries, and we know that being first here will drive value for our partner.”
StubHub also spoke with ESPN about why they decided to become the first sponsor to step up and ask for space on an NBA jersey.
“This is strategic beachhead property for us,” StubHub CEO Scott Cutler said. “We, as a company, have been very transaction oriented. We want to be more a part of the emotional experience fans have with their teams, and we think a deal like this gets us closer.”
You can see what the StubHub logo will look like on the Sixers’ jerseys in the photo above. Rovell also provided a closer look at one of the jerseys on Twitter:
The Sixers are the first professional sports team in one of North America’s four major sports to sign a jersey ad deal. Now that they’ve gotten the ball rolling, who’s going to be next?
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