Are We Ready to Advertise our Jerseys?

There's been a lot of chatter lately regarding the pros and cons of adding advertising to major-league jerseys. We saw them in major league baseball earlier this week with the As-Mariners series in Japan. We've heard an influential and incredibly prescient owner like the Dallas Mavericks' Mark Cuban weigh in with his favorable views.

Is it inevitable?

Nobody doubts there will be millions, probably tens of millions, of dollars in revenue for teams if the leagues begin allowing it. Nobody doubts there will be a flood of major sponsors eager to slap their logos on the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL jerseys that have been traditionally free of any commercial emblems.

Now let's take a little closer look. In truth, there have been ads on jerseys. For years, the manufacturers have slapped their small logos on sleeves, hems, or anywhere they could get away with it. In the NHL, the local customizers who slapped names and numbers on the jerseys added their names (Cosby's, Eagle, Eastside, Gunzo's, Steichen's, Syosset Sports to name just a few) in the late '80s until the NHL banned the practice for the 1988-89 season, when the league did its first big jersey deal with CCM.

We all know what ad-spangled jerseys look like in European soccer, in foreign elite hockey leagues, and in the minor leagues on this continent. They range from the interesting to the ridiculous.

Major-league sports has shifted the line recently, as professional football and hockey teams do have practice jersey sponsors. MeiGray is proud to be the Official Practice Jersey Sponsor of the Los Angeles Kings, and I can tell you we have gotten some nice publicity ... even if our patch does need a little adjustment to its size and shape!!

I think ads on jerseys in our four major sports is inevitable. I think it's 5-10 years away. I still want the crest front and center and not relegated to thumbnail status. As long as we don't turn our athletes into billboards, I'll be OK with it.
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Finally, in the spirit of tonight's big news around the country ...

MeiGray would like to announce our 2012 MegaMillions Sale ...

Any MeiGray customer who wins the grand prize of the MegaMillions lottery tonight can take 50% off an order of $2,000,000 or more.

If MeiGray wins the MegaMillions lottery grand prize tonight, we will announce that victory on Monday. And then after that announcement, every MeiGray customer can take 99% off any jersey in stock and they can purchase Stu's file cabinet with all his MeiGray Vintage information neatly organized (in seven-foot piles on his desk) for an additional 50 cents.

In that case, please expect 1-2 years for shipping since we will all be sailing to the Caribbean beginning Tuesday morning.

Good luck winning the second place prize, everybody!!!