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he Chicago Bulls have announced a new partnership with international sports marketing agency, Sportfive, in an effort to broaden their sponsorship portfolio around the world.

With recently introduced NBA rules, each of the league’s clubs are able to sell international sponsorship rights to two partners under a three-year pilot program that started in 2019.

Bulls senior director of business development, Mark Levitt, said the Bulls are in a prime position to add international sponsors, after the success of the ‘Last Dance’ docuseries about Michael Jordan and the Bulls, which raked in 23.8 million views on Netflix globally in its first four weeks.

“With more than 100 million Bulls fans around the world, we understand the importance of establishing distinct connections with all of our fans, even if they never have the chance to attend a game in person,” Levitt said.

“We are uniquely positioned to welcome two international brands into our Bulls portfolio of partners and look forward to the opportunities these first-of-their-kind strategic brand partnerships will bring,” he said.

Sportfive senior vice president of commercial, Bob Brennfleck, said the agency will leverage their global network to connect the Bulls with suitable partners to maximise their international fanbase.

“With the team’s illustrious history and immense worldwide following, the Chicago Bulls are a terrific partnership opportunity for international and multinational brands,” Brennfleck said.

“One of the key pillars of our global business is connecting premier sports properties with great brands, and we’re proud to be selected by the Bulls to find the right brand partners for this exclusive opportunity,” he said.

Since the introduction of the new sponsorship rules, the Washington Wizards, of which Michael Jordan is the owner, were one of the first organisations to sign an international partnership, with Japanese information technology and electronics company, NEC.

It is rumoured the Wizards decision to partner with a Japanese-based company came after they drafted the first-ever Japanese-born NBA player, which boosted the team’s popularity across Japan.