Cavaliers set to fly with new 'beautiful' Goodyear logos on jerseys, starting in 2017-18
Nobody can accuse the Cleveland Cavaliers of staying idle during their interminable wait between playoff rounds, as the team is the latest NBA squad to stand to make a profit off of walking, talking, fan billboards.
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The Cavs will add a Goodyear logo to its uniforms in 2017-18, the team announced on Monday, bringing the venerable Ohio tire company together with the Dan Gilbert-owned Cavaliers, a Cleveland institution since debuting in 1970. The team joins the Celtics, Sixers and Kings among squads that have already outlined plans for a logo that you’ll have the right (at some cost) to proudly wear on your person, starting this year.
The agreement could net the Cavs an extra $10 million a year through 2020, according to Joe Vardon at Cleveland dot com:
The arrangement between the Cavs, Goodyear, and Turner Sports may be among the most lucrative in the NBA, according to sources with knowledge of the deal that was announced in a joint press conference Monday at Quicken Loans Arena.
[…]
As part of the agreement, Turner, which includes TNT, the cable network that will carry the Cavaliers’ playoff games in the Eastern Conference finals, will air free commercials featuring the Cavs and Goodyear and promote the partnership on various traditional and digital mediums.
Goodyear gets the highly coveted, and expensive, real estate on the Cavs’ jerseys on the left shoulder/breast, opposite the Nike swoosh, beginning in the 2017-18 season. The team will sell jerseys and merchandise with the Wingfoot.
Vardon was moved to remind that the Cavs are best known for employing LeBron James first, toppling the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals, and boasting a massive payroll. In that order. The Cavs run the highest salary cap sheet in the league this year at over $125 million before luxury taxes, the squad lost money during its championship season according to Forbes, and the franchise is set to pay close to that amount in 2017-18 just for the guaranteed services of six players.
Vardon and Cavaliers general manager David Griffin went on:
The Wingfoot logo will be unveiled when Nike rolls out its new Cavs uniforms this summer. A source said the team’s color scheme of wine, gold, and blue will not change as part of the design.
“The wingfoot (is) going to be opposite the swoosh, and they really do look beautiful together,” Cavs general manager David Griffin said.
Geez, David. There’s a reason Mr. Griffin is one of the NBA’s most respected executives, but you couldn’t have found a PR flack to handle a line like …
Cavs GM David Griffin said his grandfather worked for Goodyear
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) May 15, 2017
… oh. Never mind. Carry on, Cavaliers:
As part of Cavs-Goodyear jersey deal, the two will donate $1M to Cleveland Schools and Akron Schools
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) May 15, 2017
If you’re into this sort of thing:
The Cavaliers will host the winner of Monday night’s Celtics/Wizards Game 7 on Wednesday during Game 1 of the 2017 Eastern Conference finals.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
