Stubhub is putting ads on the 76ers' jerseys. How much cash could they make by covering them entirely?
The Philadelphia 76ers have the number one pick in next week's NBA draft. And yet again, they have maintained their dubious distinction as the league's worst team.
But here's something you might not know about them. The Sixers just inked a deal to become the first team in any North American sports league to put an ad on its players' jerseys. The deal is with Stubhub, and the contract spans three years.
When journalist Ryan Beckler heard the news, he asked himself: How much money could North American teams make by covering their entire jerseys in ads? He crunched the numbers and we asked him to break them down for us.
6.4 x 6.4 centimeters
This is the size of the Stubhub ad the 76ers will be wearing on their jerseys. The patch will be on the shoulder.
"It's a pretty small area. It'll be enough to notice on television but it's not going to stick out like a sore thumb," says Beckler.
$5 million
The amount the 76ers stand to make from the contract with Stubhub, annually, for three years.
"It sets a baseline for a team that's not very good. So if the 76ers are getting $5 million for this deal, how much is Lebron James [and] the Cavs going to get? How much are the Golden State Warriors going to get? It's going to be interesting to watch down the line"
4,562 square centimeters
The surface area of Lebron James' XXL jersey. Beckler took this as the average size of an NBA player's jersey.
"It's really a lot of real estate for advertisers to look at. Especially when you consider Stubhub is paying a pretty large sum for a small patch on a jersey. Who knows what another advertiser would pay for a huge emblem on the front of a jersey," says Beckler.
$1.4 billion
The amount NBA teams could potentially make if they covered their entire jerseys in ads. Beckler says that would never happen, but that it represents the revenue opportunity available for NBA, NFL and MLB teams.
"It's massive, tens of millions maybe even hundreds of millions of dollars," says Beckler.
$370 million
This is the amount the English Premier League's 20 teams are reportedly bringing in per season by putting ads on players' jerseys.
"The NFL has a lot higher ratings than the EPL does. So if the EPL is making that much, maybe the NFL is up over the billion mark if they take up this kind of jersey ad system," says Beckler