Basketball: a record $1.46bn in sponsorship revenue generated by the NBA over the 2020-21 season

$1.46bn (€1.2bn as of 16/05/2021, the date of the end of the regular season) is the amount of sponsorship revenue generated by the National Basketball Association over the 2020-21 regular season (excluding the playoffs), according to the American agency IEG, which specialises in sponsorship consulting, on 28/06/2021.

This is a record amount for the NBA, whose sponsorship revenues are up 6% compared to 2019-20 and 21.6% compared to 2018-19 ($1.2bn), according to the study by the consultancy firm owned by Bruin Sports Capital.

13 new sponsorship deals have been signed in 2020-21 by the NBA, including a technology partnership with US computer giant Microsoft valued at $25m per season (€22.8m as of 16/04/2020, when the deal was signed). "The tech sector helped the league bring in roughly $115m (€94.6m) per year in new spending," explained IEG.

By comparison, the National Football League (NFL) posted $1.62bn in sponsorship revenue in 2020-21 (€1.34bn), Major League Baseball (MLB) generated $1.1bn (€905m) in partnership revenue over the same season and the National Hockey League (NHL…