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Cleveland Cavaliers: Which Sponsor Could The Team Wear?

By Ryan Rosko

Dec 26, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) points to his back of his jersey after he made a shot during the fourth quarter against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Orlando Magic 98-89. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 26, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) points to his back of his jersey after he made a shot during the fourth quarter against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Orlando Magic 98-89. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Cleveland Cavaliers jerseys will be looking different in the upcoming future with ad sponsors on the uniform. The only question that remains is which company will be the sponsor?

Over the years, NBA teams had their jerseys and logos updated every so often. Some were impressive, while others should not have changed at all.

Now, in 2016, everything revolves around money. Because of that, the NBA saw an opportunity that teams, including the Cleveland Cavaliers must be apart of.

We are used to seeing advertisement sponsors on WNBA and soccer jerseys. That is just the beginning as NBA teams will now have ads on their jerseys starting in 2017.

In fact, the Philadelphia 76ers agreed today as the first team to a partnership in the NBA. They sold space to StubHub for three seasons, which is also the length of time the NBA is testing this sponsorship opportunity out.

It makes all the sense in the world to do this, but that does not mean I am in favor of the idea. The size of the ad on the 76ers’ jersey is as big as I would like to see.

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Once the Cleveland Cavaliers announce who they agreed to partner with, will it be a shock? That is, could Cleveland place a company’s name of little to no influence in sports on their jersey? Sure it is possible, but I do not see it happening unless it was tied in some way back to the Cavaliers.

To make any such ties back to the Cleveland Cavaliers happen, team owner Dan Gilbert would have to be involved heavily and be granted permission by the NBA. Cleveland already plays in Quicken Loans Arena aka “The Q”.

With the arena already being the name of a company Gilbert is founder of, making it also the ad on the Cavs jerseys would be smart. Another possible non-sports ad could be the search engine Yahoo! if Gilbert would be interested in such a pairing.

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Gilbert owns multiple sports franchises and companies. Adding Yahoo! to his impressive portfolio is reportedly a very possible option.

The NBA gets what they want in more advertising and the Cleveland Cavaliers stick to a name they currently. Assuming Gilbert buys the search engine could be the next company that is used frequently with Gilbert’s other investments.

In regards to sports related options, sports software and sports technology companies, as well as more common companies such as Ticketmaster should be considered.

This situation is unknown to the good majority involved. Now that the ball is rolling with ad agreements, more teams (including the Cavs) should have their partnerships sooner rather than later. In doing so, hopefully Cleveland gets the sponsored ad they prefer.

Until we know exactly which sponsor the Cleveland Cavaliers do business with, the speculation of the ad and how lenient the NBA could be (if needed) will continue. Despite the room on NBA uniforms, ads on jerseys (regardless of the league) should stop.

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I want to see the team’s name and not some random ad.  Unfortunately, this looks like it will only be the beginning.

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