DFS Operators Not Allowed to Advertise on NBA Jerseys

Leading daily fantasy sports operators DraftKings and FanDuel have suffered a new blow in their attempts to recover from recent setbacks as NBA surprisingly decided to prevent them from advertising on team jerseys.

The NBA board recently gave thumps up for a three-year deal that will give all teams a chance to further improve their incomes by carrying advertisements on their jerseys.

Starting from the 2017-2018 season, companies will be able to buy 2.5” by 2.5” space on match day jerseys and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver believes the new arrangement will see the teams earn additional $100 million per year, which is not exactly a significant amount when we take into account that the league’s revenues are tipped to surpass the $7 billion mark next season.

NBA players will also profit from the jersey deal, thus further increasing their already exorbitant salaries.

DFS Sites Among Blacklisted Companies

However, not all companies will be able to buy said space on match day jerseys. And while it is not surprising that NBA has blacklisted businesses with links to tobacco, alcohol, politics and Nike competitors, they also don’t want anything to do with the media or gambling websites, which in this case include daily fantasy sports operators such as DraftKings and FanDuel.

This comes as a major surprise considering that the two companies already sponsor most NBA teams, with NBA also having a stake in FanDuel.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver earlier proclaimed that DFS was not gambling, but rather a piece of skill, which makes the board’s latest decision even more puzzling.

Team competing in WNBA and NBA D-League franchises also feature fantasy sports logos, but, as things stand now, NBA sides will not be added to that list any time soon.

Over the past few months, numerous states have been considering the legality of daily fantasy sports, and so far only Kansas, Rhode Island and Massachusetts have found these sports to be legal.

Meanwhile, a total of 12 states have deemed DFS websites as illegal gambling, while a number of states, including those with NBA franchises such as New York, Illinois and Texas, are currently debating on the matter.