This past spring, the NBA became the first of the four major North American sports leagues to say yes to jersey sponsorship, starting with the 2017-18 season. The NHL is testing the waters by selling ads on uniforms for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey.
With much debate about how fans will react to corporate logos on jerseys, Toronto-based S&E Sponsorship Group polled 500 Canadians with the question: “in which league are you most open to seeing jersey sponsorships?”
The NHL came out on top, with 37.1% of Canadians saying they are most open to seeing sponsorships on NHL jerseys. This is followed by NBA (28.3%), the NFL (22.4%) and MLB (12.2%).
The survey didn’t give a “none” option, so there isn’t a sense of how many Canadians are against jersey sponsorships. However, Matt Logue, EVP and COO of S&E Sponsorship Group, doesn’t think there will be a backlash.
“You’re always going to have a vocal minority in issues like this. Depending on how it’s executed and how it comes to life, some fans may take issue with it,” he said. “But, there was a time where it would have been unthinkable to brand the stadium or the arena where your favourite team plays and now that is so prevalent that people just come to accept it.”
In its analysis on the findings, S&E said due to the already heavily branded presence at NHL games, hockey fans are highly conditioned to seeing advertisers present in a game setting. “With the amount of brand exposure in NHL arenas, this could lead to fans being conditioned to seeing sponsors and being more open to them appearing on jerseys,” the report stated.
While the NBA ranked second, it actually scored highest amongst Canadians 18-34.
With the NBA holding the youngest fan base amongst the Big Four, S&E noted the league is in “a strong state of readiness to begin their jersey sponsorship pilot.”
Related: “Why sports jerseys have become out-of-home’s final frontier”
The NFL, on the other hand, would have to take a big leap forward to accept jersey sponsorship. “When you watch an NFL broadcast, the prevalence of branding is so limited,” said Logue.
“It’s really down to Gatorade, Bose and Microsoft as the three brands that are able to get in the broadcast picture. Outside of that, it’s just not overly branded like other leagues, so I think a lot of people would discount it as even a potential option.”
However, of all the Big Four leagues, the NFL would likely be able to generate the most money, according to S&E’s report. A Horizon Media study concluded the NFL could generate $230 million from jersey sponsors with top teams like the Dallas Cowboys commanding $14 million per season.
Why Canadians are least open to seeing jersey sponsorships in MLB comes down to the league’s culture. “The MLB is really rooted in tradition versus perhaps being as forward thinking—at least in the public eye—as some of the other leagues,” said Logue.
Logue noted jersey sponsorship was a lot more prevalent in sports leagues in Europe, as well as MLS in North America, which has made people more open to it.
“There will be traditionalists that are mindful of the impact of the look and feel of the jersey aesthetic, but I think long-term, consumers understand that sports [leagues] are businesses and they require revenues to be able to operate and provide the high-quality entertainment that people are looking for.”
