Who Are the Official Sponsors of the NBA?
Anheuser-Busch is the leading sponsor of NBA teams, followed by State Farm, Gatorade, MillerCoors, Adidas, Coca-Cola, Spalding, Kia Motors, McDonald’s, Pepsi-Cola and Geico, according to IEG’s Sponsor Report. Eighty-four percent of teams with a malt-beverage sponsor have support from Anheuser-Busch. Car makers and insurance companies were most represented among NBA sponsors, followed by the beer, banking and telecommunications industries. The NBA sells sponsorship at many levels, from local to international.
Revenue from sponsorships saw an annual increase of 5.7 percent for the 2013-14 season, totaling $679 million for the NBA league and its 30 teams. The increase was driven in part by four deals with Diageo (which sells liquors such as Smirnoff, Johnny Walker and Baileys), Foot Locker, the South Korean tire company Kumho and Samsung. The South Korea-based consumer electronics company Samsung paid a reported $110 million for a league contract. NBA teams vary in their ability to attract sponsorship. Among the most successful are the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder, which made the highly sponsored list in spite of its small-market location. Among the least successful are the Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings.
