The Charlotte Hornets unveiled their new jerseys yesterday. There was a small stylistic change which will end up having a huge impact on how league uniforms will look moving forward.
As you can see, the new jerseys feature the NBA logo on the back, which is where the team logo was previously placed:
Closer look at the back of the new Charlotte Hornets uniform… still scared of what that NBA logo back there means pic.twitter.com/jdBBiKghWJ
— Chris Creamer (@sportslogosnet) June 19, 2014
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Via Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg, this is not a change solely made by the Hornets, it’s a league-wide one which will go into effect next season:
The National Basketball Association is moving its logo patch to the back of team jerseys next season, citing stylistic reasons, the league said.
The logo, which depicts a player dribbling with his left hand, had been on the front of both uniform jerseys and shorts.
The switch comes as league owners ponder whether to put advertisements on uniforms for the first time. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver this year said uniform ads, which are common elsewhere in the world, are inevitable. Last year, he said it would probably happen within five years.
The change in NBA logo placement on jerseys moves the league one step closer to placing ads on the front. From a pure aesthetics standpoint, it will make the uniforms look very tacky and an eyesore during games.
It may not matter as much to teams who have only been part of the league for several decades, but for Lakers, Celtics or Knicks fans, having their classic uniforms plastered with advertisements would be sacrilege.
Commissioner Adam Silver has gone on record saying ads on jerseys are inevitable. It is expected the league will be able to generate $100 million in revenue from this venture.
It’s difficult to see the players having a problem with this, considering the salary cap figure is calculated each year based on a percentage of basketball related income (BRI). The ad revenue will bump up overall income, which would theoretically push the cap number up, resulting in more money for owners to spend on player contracts.
As we’ve seen with the introduction of sleeved jerseys this season, the number one priority for players when it comes to uniforms is how comfortable it makes them feel on the court. In that regard, having ads placed on the jerseys they wear will have zero impact.
The WNBA and the NBA development league already have jerseys with ads on them. It looks like the NBA will be joining them very soon.
What do you think about ads on jerseys?
Follow steven lebron on Twitter at @steven_lebron.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.
