NBA team sponsorship revenue up 8% to $1.6 billion, boosted by jersey patches

NBA teams notched $1.62 billion in sponsorship revenue this season — an increase of 8% since last year, and 91% from $850 million five years ago, according to third-party data firm SponsorUnited.

NBA teams notched $1.62 billion in sponsorship revenue this season — an increase of 8% since last year, and 91% from $850 million five years ago, according to third-party data firm SponsorUnited.

While the volume of deals was up just 2.5% since last year, the partnerships got bigger and more strategic, per the NBA Marketing Partnerships 2024-2025 report from SponsorUnited, which tracks global sports and entertainment sponsorships.

That haul is still shy, however, of the NFL, which had nearly $2.5 billion in team sponsorship revenue, a 6% increase from the prior season, according to SponsorUnited.

A key part of the NBA’s revenue rise is the proliferation of sponsor patches on team jerseys, said Bob Lynch, founder and CEO of the data firm.

The number of jersey patch deals — commonplace in international soccer and increasingly popular in the NBA since their introduction in 2017 — more than doubled year-over-year last season. There were six first-time NBA jersey partners, contributing more than $80 million in new spending this year, according to the report. The deals typically run three years on average, Lynch said.