Hallelujah!
The NBA has tabled discussions regarding the implementation of sponsored logos on game jerseys.
In the most recent board of governors meeting, it was decided that the NBA will continue to compile extensive research on whether it would financially beneficial and good for the game overall if every team had a sponsorship logo on the upper left shoulder of their jerseys, according to a source inside the league.
There are many variables that come into play when making such a drastic decision that would change the history of the game forever and blaze the path for other professional sport leagues.
The NBA's owned WNBA has had experience with logos on their game jerseys when the Phoenix Mercury signed a three-year contract with LifeLock in May of 2009.
The WNBA is the only professional sports league, besides the MLS (Major League Soccer) to have sponsored logos on their game jerseys.
The WNBA is less focused on their public image and how having sponsored logos on their jerseys will affect their fan base, but they are more focused on their bottom line and profitability. That is the primary reason the WNBA made a conscious effort of aligning themselves with sponsors, to make money.
The Brooklyn Nets, formally known as the New Jersey Nets were the first NBA team to adorn a sponsored logo on their practice jerseys when they signed a contract with PYN technologic Inc. in September of 2009. The Nets were struggling both on the court and financially so it was a no brainer for them to align themselves with a sponsor that added value to their depleted revenue stream.
The NBA planned to have logos on game jerseys at the start of the 2013-2014 NBA regular season.
It was estimated by league sources that the additional revenue that would be recorded by the implementation of sponsored logos on NBA game jerseys would yield $100 million annually.
This is something Commissioner David Stern, and the incumbent commissioner of the NBA Adam Silver, must consider and evaluate if it would be worth the possible public relations nightmare that would happen if teams started to all have sponsorships on their jerseys.
The NBA is a game of great history and tradition.
Imagine the Los Angeles Lakers having a GEICO logo on their purple and gold jerseys.
Imagine the Boston Celtics adorning AT&T on their green and whites.
The NBA would have to deal with the purists of the game accusing league officials of "selling out" and not protecting the sanctity and the valued tradition of the game.
Maybe the board of governors made the right choice by tabling discussions about adding sponsorships and expanding the revenue steam for teams, but most of all, they protected the game and everything it stands for.
There has never been an era tainted by steroids or performance enhancing drugs in the NBA.
Don't make the future of the NBA tainted by "selling out" and putting the values on the game on hold in order to increase their bottom line.
For now, we do not have to worry about Kevin Durant running down the court as a spokesperson for McDonald's.
He plays for the Thunder, not a corporate company.
We are able to relax, breath, and pray that the NBA has not just tabled the talks, but have ultimately buried the discussion.