towear ads for
movies (including
Spider-Man 2).
VOUKEFALAS,
a
Greek soccer club,
inked a “strictly
economical” deal
with Soula’sHouse
of History, a local
brothel, in2012.
CARDIFFCITYFC
was sponsored
by theWelsh
band Super Furry
Animals in1999.
the potential for substantial revenues.
ManU’sdealwithChevy,forexample,
will see the automaker pay the club
$559millionover seven years.
Paul Lukas, who writes the “Uni
Watch” column at ESPN.com, sug-
gests thatAmericansports fansmaybe
at their breaking point when it comes
tocorporateencroachment.“There isa
perception,andIthink it’saccurate,that
everyaspect of the sportingexperience
hasbeensoldtocorporatesponsorship,”
Lukas says.
“One of the last things
that does not haveadvertising is the
uniform, and I thinka lotof fansdon’t
want tosee thatsullied.”
Lukas also posits that rooting for
a team is a form of brand loyalty that
extends to the uniforms themselves.
After all, most fans stick with their
team through player changes and the
highsand lowsofthesuccesscycle;Jerry
Seinfeld famouslyobserved that sports
fansare“actuallyrooting fortheclothes,
whenyouget rightdown to it.”
“It spans generations within fami-
lies, this loyalty towhoever iswearing
a particular uniform,”Lukas says. “So
fansdon’t likethingsmessingwiththeir
uniforms.”He adds,“I like to think of
thisasarareexampleofgenuineAmeri-
can exceptionalism, that our uniforms
do not have corporate advertising on
them. It’s something that sets us apart
andthatwecanandshouldbeproudof.”
But there’s always the lure of the
almighty dollar.NBA commissioner
AdamSilverhassaid it’s“inevitable”that
the leaguewill oneday slap ads on jer-
seys.NHLcommissionerGaryBettman
told reporters this past September that
itwould take“a lot,a lot,a lotofmoney”
togetthe leaguetoputcorporateadson
its jerseys—butCOO JohnCollinshas
said that it’s“comingandhappening.”
Theadvertising invasionhasalready
begun in some smaller American
sports leagues.Major League Soccer
has allowed jersey ads since the 2007
season, and theWNBA allowed them
beginningwith the2009 season.
“Jersey-front advertising putMLS
in a trendsetting position in this part
of theworld,”says leaguespokesperson
SeanDennison.“MLSwas,and still is,
a progressive league, and in 2007,we
joined the restof thesoccerworldwith
the incorporationof advertiserson the
frontof jerseys.”Thatprogressiveness,
of course, also gave the league’s teams
anew sourceof revenue.
For potential advertisers, the allure
of sponsorship is obvious—especially
when the logoappears inaprimeposi-
tionon the jersey.“The public is crazy
about jerseys, so fans arewearing these
jerseys,”saysRamonMartinez,director
of public relations forCasinoArizona
andTalking StickResort,whose logo
appearsonthe frontofthe jerseysofthe
WNBA’s PhoenixMercury, above the
number,where the team’s name or city
wouldotherwisego.“Witheverygame,
everyTV interview, every photograph,
wegetexposure.It’sagreatopportunity
forustogetournameouttothepublic.”
Given the financial incentive forboth
the leaguesand theircorporatepartners,
it seems assured that jersey advertise-
mentswillhappen.Intruth,theBigFour
leagueshavealreadyflirtedwiththe idea.
During season-openingMLB games
held inJapan,playershavewornsponsor
logosontheirjerseysandbattinghelmets.
TheNFL,NBA,andNHLalreadyallow
ads onpractice jerseys.But putting ads
ongame jerseysonapermanentbasis is
likelytocauseabiggerpushback,andfans
havedemonstrated that there’sa limit to
howmuch they’ll allow advertisements
to creep into their sports experience.
In 2004,MLB struck a sponsorship
deal in which a
Spider-Man 2
logo
would appear onbases during regular-
seasongames—onlytobackofftheplan
followingapublicoutcry.
Forhispart,Lukaswonders ifSilver’s
comments that jerseyads are inevitable
are strategic“trial balloons”designed to
softenpeople up to the idea andmake
jersey ads seem like they really are
unavoidable. “It’s clearly his attempt
tomake that statement a self-fulfilling
prophecy,”Lukas says.“If itwere truly
inevitable, it would have happened
by now, right?He’s been saying it for,
like, four years,but it hasn’t happened
yet.Somaybe it isn’t inevitable.”
JOE DELESSIO
covers sports for
NewYorkmagazine’swebsite. He’d
happily take $559million towear
a Chevy logo on his shirt.
JERSEYACCENT
Thehighsand lowsof
jerseysponsorships
fromEuropean soccer
FCBARCELONA
paysUNICEF
almost $2million
ayear—essentially
a charitable
donation—to
display the
nonprofit’s logo.
(Of course, Barça
is reportedly set to
receive60million
euros ayear to
don theQatar
Foundation logo.)
MANCHESTER
UNITED
hadAIG
as a sponsor from
2006 to2010.
The insurance
company paid
around$21.5
million a year
before it received
financial-crisis
bailouts from the
U.S. government.
ATLÉTICO
MADRID
had
a deal with
Columbia Pictures
during the
2003–04 season
WAREHAM.NL (SPORT)/ALAMY STOCKPHOTO (UNICEF JERSEY); VI IMAGESVIAGETTY IMAGES (QATAR JERSEY)
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
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