WNBA teams are readily taking up the opportunity to feature partner logos on their jerseys since rules were relaxed, says GlobalData. The leading data and analytics company notes that two-thirds of teams are now donning a primary front-of-shirt partner and three-quarters are boasting a patch partner. These two partnership types are estimated to bring in a combined $14.45 million per season.

Jake Kemp, Sports Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “While purists of the game will argue against allowing extra corporate logos on playing kits, the reality is that it enables teams to demand higher sums from its most lucrative partnerships. Front-of-shirt partners are expected to bring in an average of $1 million revenue per season, while patch partnerships average out at just over $760,000 per team. In some ways, logos also offer the league a greater sense of team identity, as each team is not seen wearing the exact same Nike kit with differences in color, with the name/badge being the only major variations.”

Across sports leagues outside of the US, allowing multiple brand logos across team kits is nothing new. The rule relaxation in the WNBA appears comparatively mild by comparison to some major soccer markets, with team kits having long displayed a plethora of logos on the front, back and side of shirts, as well as shorts and socks.

Kemp continues: “Donning multiple logos is the direction that US sport has been moving towards over the past few years, including elite competitions such as the NBA, NFL and NHL. Even baseball’s MLB, with its more traditional roots, is finally coming around to the opportunities that such patch partnerships can offer.”

The US market, in regard to sponsor value, remains centered around a team’s particular market, with those based in New York and Los Angeles demanding higher sums. This happens regardless of a team’s performance in the sport, as geography counts for almost everything in US sports sponsorship.

Kemp adds: “With the additional potential partnerships in play, WNBA jerseys are becoming a lot more crowded, given that Nike and AT&T logos are also still present. Nike is still visible through their kit supplier deal, which extends down from the NBA central contract; as is the AT&T logo, which is placed on the back of team jerseys through a centralized WNBA deal.”