Sources are saying that the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to a multi-year deal to become the latest team to wear a logo on their jerseys for the 2018-19 season. The Cavaliers have become the sixth team in the league to announce a deal to wear a logo, as the league follows in the footsteps of other sports that have done the same.
Who is the Cavaliers deal with?
The Cleveland Cavaliers agreed to a deal with tire company Goodyear to wear the well-known Goodyear Wingfoot logo on their jerseys. Interestingly enough, Goodyear was founded and is still headquartered in nearby Akron, Ohio.
That is also the city where Cavs superstar LeBron James was born and currently lives. Terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed, although they are expected to be announced later today. As one of the most high-profile teams in the NBA, due to having a superstar and perennial MVP in LeBron, Goodyear is expected to get a lot of exposure with this deal.
Eric Smallwood, who works for sponsorship evaluation firm Apex Marketing Group, estimates that just the TV exposure could make the company between $7 to $10 million per year. If you add in trading cards, social media, video games and other areas, Smallwood says that number could be around $30 million a year.
The deal is also a win for Goodyear over one of their major rivals.
Kumho is the official tire of the NBA, but designating logos on jerseys was not a protected category for the league's official tire. Protected sponsors for logos on jerseys include ESPN, ABC, Turner, Spalding, and Tissot. This allowed Goodyear to swoop in and come away with a deal.
Other teams in the NBA who have a logo deal in place
In April 2016, the NBA announced that teams can sign with companies to put a two-and-a-half by two-and-a-half logo on the upper left-hand corner of jerseys starting in the 2018-19 season.
The other teams that have come to a logo deal include the Boston Celtics (General Electric), Brooklyn Nets (Infor) and Philadelphia 76ers (StubHub) in the Eastern Conference.
In the Western Conference, the Sacramento Kings (Blue Diamond) and the Utah Jazz (Qualtrics) have agreed to logo deals.
All contracts for logo deals are structured around three-year trial periods, with the only variance being the amount paid by a company. So far the Celtics and the Nets have had the highest deals at $8 million a year. The Cleveland Cavaliers deal is expected to draw a number higher than that.
