The NBA is a pedal-to-the-metal sport much like Formula 1 Grand Prix racing. The crowd roars with excitement after each pass, twist, and turn, hoping to see their team win. But, few realize how big of a business the NBA is. Behind the scenes of the NBA, there is a lot of money, most of it coming from NBA team sponsors.
Any business can be an NBA sponsor for a while, but it’s the long-term partnerships that shape the team. Here are some of the most enduring NBA official sponsors and how they have shaped the NBA.
Riding the Wave of Positive Emotions
The engine that powers the NBA is the massive fan base. On social media, the official NBA accounts have 210 million followers, the most out of any sport. That is 35 million more than WWE’s and 170 more than Formula 1’s accounts! NBA team sponsors know how much that number of eyeballs can boost their business. Those NBA fans who don’t use social media have their social circles where they discuss NBA matches and NBA news. That massive presence in social circles makes NBA brands great for marketing.
The universal appeal of basketball is another factor to the liking of NBA team sponsors. Basketball is easy to follow and to enjoy around the world by people from all walks of life. Add a few charismatic NBA players, such as Kevin Durant, and viewers get glued to their screens. They cheer and celebrate when their favorite player or team wins.
Big businesses know the importance of strong positive emotions. They want people to have positive feelings about them, which is why they sponsor NBA teams. When their team wins big, it’s the business behind it that helped it happen.
Organizing Great Fun for the Audience
NBA sponsorships are win-win arrangements. The team gets financial support to win big, which gives more exposure to the sponsor. In turn, the sponsor gets more business from the fans, and the cycle repeats. But, there is another crucial factor in this process: visibility. The more visible the business brand is during the game, the better.
NBA team sponsors found creative ways to be visible during the match without being stale. They organize contests and activities where the audience can join in. That ranges from launching T-shirts onto the bleachers to having Kiss Cams and more. Everyone is welcome to join in on the fun. That makes the NBA match feel like a community event for the entire family. After it’s over, they will talk about it in their social circles, drawing even more people in. That allure of good, harmless fun is hard to resist.
There is a lot of science behind that process. Scientists found that people who engage with a product or service tend to buy it more. If the engagement is goofy and relaxed, that’s even better. The key part is to not force anything and make it seamless. All that fun for the viewers makes them engage with each other, the team, and the business. In a sense, the business is saying, “This is what it’s like to buy our product. Are you ready for the real deal?” After a few years of such fun, the entire family will be happy to become a lifelong customer.
If You Build It (and Name It), They Will Come
The moment when an audience member becomes a loyal fan has a name: “conversion.” But, there is a catch — nobody can tell when the conversion will happen. It might take a month for some or a year for others. A business that has been building engagement with the same audience for 2 years can’t afford to leave. If it does, another business might swoop in and convert the audience members. That’s why NBA team sponsors think long-term and invest big in their chosen team.
The NBA team and the business sign detailed sponsorship contracts. They go to great lengths to define what the players can say or do. The most important clause is the naming rights, which determine who can choose names. In most cases, that means the business gets to choose the name of the arena. That’s not unearned, because the business often pays to build it, getting even more visibility. Every time a news report mentions the arena, that’s an automatic ad for the business.
Still, there are plenty of rules that can stand in the way. For example, the NBA can set rules on which businesses can sponsor a team. Up until recently, gambling was not allowed at all near any NBA. But, there is so much money in the casino business that the NBA is caving in. The Capital One Arena in Washington DC is a great example. It already hosts the Washington Wizards and an in-house sportsbook.
If casinos sponsor NBA teams, the methods of conversion are sure to change. Instead of Kiss Cams and T-shirts, we will see casino bonus ads and other gambling incentives. That will forever change the NBA and how we see it. Something similar has happened with other sports, such as soccer. Players there already have online sports betting and casino ads on jerseys.
Prime Examples of Long-Standing NBA Sponsorships
NBA team sponsors can be any type of business, such as banking, automaker, or logistics companies. Some examples of this are NBA teams’ arena names:
- Houston Rockets’ Toyota Center
- Memphis Grizzlies FedEx Forum
- Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center named by JPMorgan Chase
Here are some other notable partnerships of NBA teams and businesses and how they stand out.
American Airlines Center (Dallas Mavericks)
American Airlines Center is due to American Airlines, one of the major NBA team sponsors. The company secured the rights to name the arena way back in 2000 by signing a 30-year deal with the team. At the time, the deal was worth $195mm, securing long-term visibility for the airline brand.
In November 2023, the majority owner of Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, sold his stake to a casino tycoon. The transaction cost $3.5bn and comes on the heels of gambling legalization in Texas. One year prior, Mark stated that he was looking forward to building a new Mavericks arena. He mentioned Las Vegas Sands as a possible partner and that it will exist inside a resort and a casino. The casino tycoon he sold his stake to is Miriam Adelson, the owner of Las Vegas Sands.
Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia 76ers)
This agreement shows how a company can sign a deal and then another company can buy it. The Philadelphia 76ers first signed a sponsorship deal with Wachovia in 1994. That financial company handed over its assets to Wells Fargo in 2008. By buying Wachovia, Wells Fargo got the sponsorship rights in 2008. Two years later, Wells Fargo renamed the sports arena.
The deal ended in 2023 after 29 years, during which Wells Fargo became embedded in the team’s history. In July 2024, the banking company said it would not renew the naming rights, which cost it $1.4mm a year. The Wells Fargo Center is still home to the Philadelphia 76ers until 2031. But, the team plans to move after that to a new $1.3bn arena. For that, they will need powerful NBA team sponsors.
Staples Center (Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers)
The Staples Center opened in 1999 to great fanfare. It would become the home to two NBA teams, the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers. The owner of the naming rights was Staples, an office supply company. One of the largest and most enduring NBA partnerships came to an end after 20 years and $116mm.
The naming rights got in the hands of Crypto, a cryptocurrency exchange. The name changed on Christmas Day in 2021. That deal was also a 20-year one, but it was worth a reported $700mm. Many fans did not like the arena name change. They still refer to the arena by its old name, The Staples Center. The Clippers moved to the Intuit Dome, but the Lakers stayed there.
Hoping for a Family-Friendly Future
NBA sponsors and arena naming rights go hand in hand. So far, all NBA arenas carry a name that is not a casino name. Let’s hope that continues and that NBA team sponsors are regular businesses, not casinos. That way, the NBA will have good, wholesome family fun instead of online casino ads.
