In an article in the New York Times from last month, the NBA said that it is thinking about letting logos be on the uniforms of players. Anyone who knows how the sports business works shouldn't be surprised by this. Yes, sports is all about making money. Just read what Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said about putting logos on NBA uniforms.
"Anything that brings in more money for the teams and the players is a good thing," he said. "The NBA is an organisation."
So there you go.
Basketball isn't the first business to be tempted by the money that logos on uniforms can bring in. Remember when it was suggested that "Spider-Man 2" be advertised through Major League Baseball? Putting the Spider-Man logo on the bases was meant to get younger people to come to baseball games. The idea was eventually thrown out, but business-minded people in the sports industry will eventually give in to these kinds of ideas.
Should this be seen as a shame because it goes against tradition? Do logos cheapen a sport? Before you get mad and protest this abomination, think about this.
NASCAR has let sponsors put their logos on helmets, uniforms, and cars for a long time, and the sport is becoming one of the most popular in the country. All of the big soccer teams in Europe have sponsors whose logos are on the players' jerseys.
Team sponsorship is a $1 million-a-year business. It's only a matter of time before the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB all agree to wear uniforms with logos on them. It's not a shame, though; it's business.
