The Definitive NBA Jerseys Sponsorship Rankings: Part 3

Robert Segovia
6 min readMar 27, 2019

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The CREAM of the crop!!!

Soon he will have played for as many teams as sponsors on this fake jersey.

I mean I couldn’t put a charity lower than this but also it’s pretty good.

10. Utah Jazz Qualtrics (5 for the Fight Charity)

Visual Fit: It looks way better than you think it would.

Company/Team Fit: The name Qualtrics is a problem but not of the jersey, it’s a good cause and Utah company.

Wow-Meter for Brand: QUALTRICS……not excited. They are fighting for a cure for cancer…excited.

So the key to this being so high is that 5 for the Fight is on the jersey, not Qualtrics. The design is a bit clunky, but it works well on all the Jazz’s jerseys. Very clean.

You can’t beat a charity that is fighting to cure cancer especially if we are comparing to corporate monsters like Disney and Infor. (haha Infor) I have not and am never doing enough research the Charity to know how legit it is but in this case. It’s the thought that counts.

National Company that is exciting.

9. Los Angles Lakers Wish

Visual Fit: Almost Perfect starring Lebron James

Company/Team Fit: E-Comm company with the young Lakers very forward thinking.

Wow-Meter for Brand: Wish is a solid B+.

Wish is a company that is fighting with Amazon a lot like the Lakers are fighting with the Warriors. They are never going to win, but they will release some flashy press releases.

I like the logo on the Lakers jersey. It looks good. I wish that Wish (sorry) were a more well-known brand name. It’s like a cool movie that no one has seen.

I have to say that Lebron pushes this jersey up a bit because he is well Lebron.

Jersey sales went up 600% when Lebron signed. The Lakers are winning even when they are losing.

International Company that is expanding brand with an International Winner.

8. Golden State Warriors Rakuten

Visual Fit: Would be higher if it just looked better.

Company/Team Fit: Rakuten endorses Barcelona. Connect the dots.

Wow-Meter for Brand: In American: Meh In the World:1000000

I mean you have to feel like the rest of league is play checkers and the Warriors are playing chess with this move. Rakuten only sponsors the greatest winner in the world. Golden State is saying they are Barcelona to the Lakers Real Madrid. Company/Team fit this is a masterpiece.

It can’t be higher than this even though it’s genius because it just does not look as good as the elite jerseys at the top of this list. Of course, the red patch on white is the one I like the least, but others don’t look great. How about next time just the word Rakuten and cut out that weird R circle thing.

Still, when I think about jersey sponsors being perfect, I think about Golden State Rauken and my number one.

Did I tell you how much I love Gimmicks?

7. Houston Rockets ROCKIT

Visual Fit: Good, not Great

Company/Team Fit: It’s a small company from a small California town, but it’s this high for another reason.

Wow-Meter for Brand: haha it does not matter.

THE TEAM IS CALLED THE ROCKETS, AND ROCKIT SPONSORS THEM!

I mean ain’t that the most Daryl Morey breaks the system idea ever. His sponsor is sponsoring his team.

6. Chicago Bulls Zenni Optical

Visual Fit: Logo looks good and the wearing glasses with the jersey looks better.

Company/Team Fit: This company is from San Francisco.

Wow-Meter for Brand: Look at this cool pic….

I mean I just love this so much.

Unlike the Rockets Rockit, the Zenni Optical Bulls jersey looks great. But it’s not this high because of that it’s this high because they can take cool glasses pictures forever and ever. Look at boy Robin Lopez in those red specs.

It’s another company from San Francisco. Are all companies from San Francisco? I don’t think it matters much.

Anyway, this is the greatest jersey gimmick in the NBA.

The Best of the Best

5. Cleveland Cavs Goodyear

Visual Fit: The classic Goodyear logo looks perfect of the Cavs Jersey.

Company/Team Fit: 120-year-old company founded in Akron, Ohio. An American institution.

Wow-Meter for Brand: Well that is where this gets tricky.

So it’s important to note that the top five on this list are very close. You could make an argument to me that any of them being the number one choice and I would hear it.

When I googled “Cleveland Cavs Goodyear Jersey” eight out of the top ten images are Lebron James. The other two? Kryie Irving. It’s hard to put a Jersey sponsor at the top when the most known players that have worn them don’t play for the team anymore.

It looks great and is a perfect fit as a company, but we are picking nits at this point.

4. Orlando Magic Disney

Visual Fit: +1000000000

Company/Team Fit: Ugh every heard of Disney World

Wow-Meter for Brand: Perfect 10 if you like chain restaurants

Most of these aren’t personal. I try to really look at the image, company fit, and brand and rank these accordingly. I just don’t really like Disney or the city of Orlando. I can fault it on merit cause it’s pretty much perfect. I don’t like it. Sorry, Avengers 47.

3. Milwaukee Bucks Harley Davidson

Visual Fit: Classic logo and a not so classic jersey but it works well.

Company/Team Fit: Harley Davidson

Wow-Meter for Brand: Perfect for riding your Hog to Chilies.

Great! Nothing says beer belly motorcycle hellions like the city of Milwaukee. I mean when I think of a beer I think of the city of Milwaukee.

This best part is that both the logo and the Jersey kind of look ugly apart but somehow look perfect together. I am taking this as a metaphor for Giannis because I am foolish. But his game should not work, but it does magnificently.

I don’t know why it work but it does.

2. New Orleans Pelicans Zatarain’s

Visual Fit: Man the red actually looks good! Only in New Orleans!

Company/Team Fit: Zatarain’s has been a New Orleans institution since 1886.

Wow-Meter for Brand: SPICY 1000

The combo of New Orleans and Zatarain’s is a perfect branding plus city connection. The patch looks fantastic on Jersey below and not even in a weird way. It’s almost perfect.

I would make this the number one except for one reason.

These patches look great and it makes me sad.

The Pelicans are not a good franchise. Two of the guys in the picture above taken a year ago are gone. This list is combo of the sponsor (A+), city (A++), and franchise :(. So in the end Pelicans Jersey Sponsor is great enough be second on this list but not great enough be first.

1. Boston Celtics GE

Visual Fit: Perfect

Company/Team Fit: The Celtics, Boston, and GE are all national brands.

Wow-Meter for Brand: When I think about Jersey Sponsors I think about this Jersey.

This match is perfect. GE is a 126 year old company based in Boston Massachusetts. When I think of Jersey sponsors, I think of the Celtics and GE. I made this list because of this Jersey. GE as business is going through a rough time this year. The Boston Celtics are going through a rough time this year. They are both old and stuff brands. Nationally know. Not always the most exciting but they are both always talked about in business/sports shows.

Kyrie thinking about how he is going to call out his teammates

The jersey looks beautiful, perfect in either white or green. While the nitpicky may question the brand or for that matter the Celtics wowness to me this the number on choice.

That’s it! I am sorry this last one took so long, but I hope you enjoyed this weird thing I did.

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