The Vegas Sphere is going to be visible in the NBA all season.
No, it's not because there will be games played in the sphere. It's because Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) -) has agreed to a deal with the New York Knicks to appear on their jersey on the eve of the team's first game of the season, according to a report by Sportico.
The financial terms of the deal are unknown, though the Sphere logo will appear on Knicks home and away jerseys, practice jerseys, and warm-up shirts.
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Sphere Entertainment and the Knicks' parent company Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) -) are both owned by the Dolan family and spearheaded by Jim Dolan. The Knicks previously had Squarespace on its jerseys for five seasons, but were one of four teams to not have a jersey patch last season.
It's chosen instead to cross-promote between Dolan's companies.
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According to Scott Rosner, head of Columbia University's Sports Management program, the team may have been holding out for a deal it deemed to be its market value and must've concluded that this cross-promotion was the most beneficial deal with the season about to tip-off.
"At what point do you continue to hold out for a deal that you commensurate with what you believe to be the market value?" Rosner said. "There becomes the moment where it just makes a lot more sense to promote this year, and so the deal can work for both parties."
The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors each have jersey patch deals worth $20 million annually from Bibigo and Rakuten, respectively.
The New York Knicks come in second in between the Lakers and Warriors in terms of franchise valuation.
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