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he NBA has reached a record US$1.46 billion (AUD$1.9 billion) in sponsorship revenue for the 2020/21 season according to a new report from IEG.

Over the course of the season, the league announced 13 new league-wide partnerships with the growth equalling a 6% rise compared to the 2019/20 season.

IEG global managing director, Peter Laatz, said the introduction of the NBA’s jersey patch sponsorship for teams has played a key role in the growth, as well as increased investment from the technology sector, with nearly US$115 million (AUD$153 million) attributed to new spending from technology.

“NBA sponsorship revenue is close to reaching the heights of the pre-eminent National Football League (NFL) that had total sponsorship revenue of US$1.62 billion (AUD$2.15 billion) last season,” Laatz said.

“The star power, number of games, variety of sponsorable assets and global popularity of the NBA all contribute to the league’s continued growth…

“Some teams are getting more than US$15 million (AUD$20 million) per year for jersey patches and that is close to the US$30 million (AUD$40 million) a naming rights sponsorship can bring in annually,” he said.

Despite the rise of the technology sector, the report revealed the most active categories of brands across the league are insurance, retail, and beer and wine, which each holder over 70 individual sponsorships.

State Farm, Anheuser-Busch and Verizon lead the way for individual organisations in sponsorship, with each having sponsorships with over 20 of the NBA’s teams.