A while back, we did a Freakonomics Radio program asking why the NFL hasn’t (yet) put advertising on its players’ jerseys. One person we spoke with was Michael Neuman, then of Amplify Sports and Entertainment and now of Horizon Media. Neuman and Horizon have just released a report that tries to put a firm dollar figure on jersey sponsorship. SportsBusiness Journal has the writeup:
The four big stick-and-ball leagues are leaving a total of more than $370 million on the table annually by not selling jersey advertising, according to new research from Horizon Media.
The NFL, with its unrivaled ratings and concomitantly higher ad rates, topped the list for jersey valuations at nearly $231 million, or 62 percent of all potential big four jersey ad sales. However, the nature of football – with players more crowded together and with less static time facing the camera – means that the NFL offers the least of what the study terms “detections” among the four leagues, with 28,560 calculated over the course of a season. Baseball, meanwhile, with its typical center-field and behind-the-catcher camera angles, scored more than 314,000 detection opportunities.
The total jersey valuation for MLB teams came in at more than $101 million. The NBA total was $31 million, and the NHL at $8 million, according to the report.
The article covers some of the complications that we addressed in the podcast as well — for instance:
“If I’m an owner, I’m saying that’s my real estate. And if I’m a network with league rights and I can’t sell it, then I’m paying less for those rights,” said Chris Weil, CEO of marketing agency Momentum Worldwide, whose client list includes heavy sports spenders like Coca-Cola and American Express. “You also might run into a problem if you ask a player to take a pay cut, as they are in the current [NFL] labor negotiations, and then sell space on what a player might consider his jersey.”
By the way: next week, our Freakonomics Radio podcast and Marketplace segment will both explore the hidden side(s) of those NFL labor negotiations. You’ll hear from a variety of the principals involved, ranging from the league to the teams to the players’ union to the players themselves.
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I think that the NFL should allow jersey advertising because it will bring more money to the NFL. By bringing more money to the NFL there will be a less chance of a lockout 2011 season. With money from the advertising company’s there so be an even greater chance of a lockout and the future.
I think the NFL should allow jersey advertisement, this way they can bring in more money to the organization. More money equals less problems, such as a lock out now there will be no revenue coming in. This is because now the fans are no happy because they don’t get to see what they love. So now are you not only losing money from advertisements, you are losing alot of money from the fan base of the National Football League.
-CHUNKY BOI
This is a very interesting idea. I feel like the players wouldn’t support this idea, but it would work. It would be a great way for the NFL to make more money. I feel the players should get a percentage of the money for the advertising as well.
Wouldn’t it be “better” to put advertisements on the field first? They would be more visible and you don’t need to share the revenue with the grass.
In a related note, I’ve never seen advertisements on the referees in any sport if I’m not mistaken. I think there might be some unique opportunities there.
I’d hate to see all our professional sports sink to the level of NASCAR with every competitor completely covered in ads.
I wonder how it would be handled if a player’s individual sponsor conflicted with the team sponsor.
@MIke: In a piece of marketing genius, soccer referees in Scotland are sponsored by SpecSavers – a UK company optician company.
The only major sport I follow is hockey, and you can see the results of plastering ads everywhere by looking at the European leagues. The jerseys are covered in ads for various products and companies and it looks extremely tacky. I don’t want to see American sports get to the point where viewers need to squint at the screen to make out their team’s colors and logo. It doesn’t add anything to the game except the satiation of greed for someone who already possesses more wealth than most of us will ever see.