In what seems to be a perfect marriage that was destined to come true the moment jersey sponsorships became official for the 2017-18 season, the Orlando Magic have agreed to a deal with Disney to sponsor their jerseys for the 2017-18 season.
BREAKING: @OrlandoMagic signs Disney to jersey patch deal for next season, team will sell jerseys with patch at arena. pic.twitter.com/2BJrLJWsiu
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 20, 2017
Surprisingly the patch doesn’t really stand out too much from the uniform as it is an almost identical color that can kind of get lost in the jersey.
With the Magic’s sponsorship deal, there is eight NBA teams to strike sponsorship deals for 2017-18:
Orlando Magic: Disney
Boston Celtics: GE
Philadelphia 76ers: StubHub
Sacramento Kings: Blue Diamond Almonds
Brooklyn Nets: Infor
Cleveland Cavaliers: Goodyear Tires
Utah Jazz: 5 For the Fight (Charity)
Minnesota Timberwolves: FitBit
The going rate seems to be $5 million to $10 million per year for these sponsorship partnerships, another genius way for the NBA to create revenue and build marketing and branding relationships without really hurting the integrity of the jersey or the game.
Here is a statement from Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins on the decision:
“With Orlando as our hometown, magic has always been a key strand of our DNA,” said Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins in a statement. “This expanded agreement with Disney brings our story full circle and represents the coming together of two dynamic organizations that have become synonymous with Orlando.”
This is easily the best partnership so far between company and team, the Magic will be looking for their prince charming in the 2017 NBA Draft.