Advertising on Pistons jerseys ‘in the works’

Rod Beard | The Detroit News

Comerica Bank? Henry Ford Health System? General Motors?

Who’s willing to shell out some cash to be on the Pistons’ jersey next season?

It’s not clear who the mystery company could be, but the Pistons are close to getting a corporate partner to have an ad on their jerseys beginning next season.

Palace Sports & Entertainment vice chairman Arn Tellum said the Pistons are working on a potential deal to put a small ad in a 21/ 2 -inch-by-21/ 2 -inch space near the top left corner as early as next season.

“It’s in the works,” Tellum told The Detroit News on Thursday. “We are in discussions and hope and expect to have something done prior to the beginning of the season.”

The NBA became the first major American sports league to allow ads on its jerseys when the Board of Governors voted last season to switch from Adidas to Nike as the uniform supplier and a three-year plan to add corporate logos.

All NBA jerseys will bear a Nike emblem and individual teams are allowed to negotiate their own deals with companies to help generate additional basketball-related income, which would be split among the players and teams.

The expected revenue from the ads could reach about $100 million per year.

The Philadelphia 76ers were the first team to make a corporate patch deal, garnering a deal with StubHub reportedly worth $5 million per season. The Sacramento Kings also inked a deal with Blue Diamond Almonds in October, with a reported value of $5 million per year.

The Boston Celtics (General Electric) and Brooklyn Nets (Infor) have the biggest reported deals, reportedly at $8 million per season. The only other two teams with deals are the defending-champion Cleveland Cavaliers, with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. for between $5 million to $10 million, and the Utah Jazz, with a software company named Qualtrics, for $4 million annually.

Tellum did not disclose which corporate partner the Pistons are in discussions with, but it could be a Detroit-based company, such as one of the big automakers.

rod.beard@detroitnews.com

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