NBA’s Sacramento Kings Sign Jersey Sponsorship Deal With Dialpad

(Bloomberg) -- The NBA’s Sacramento Kings have signed a deal with Dialpad Inc. to put the company’s logo on team uniforms, replacing an expiring sponsorship agreement ahead of the upcoming basketball season.

The franchise agreed to a three-year pact with the cloud communications firm, whose brand will appear on a jersey patch, on the arena floor and on the pads around the baskets. The parties declined to share financial terms of the arrangement, which is set to be announced Monday.

The deal is the latest patch swap as NBA teams line up jersey sponsors ahead of the season set to tip off in October. The Los Angeles Lakers this month scored a five-year deal with South Korean foodmaker Bibigo worth more than $100 million, and the Philadelphia 76ers announced Crypto.com as the team’s uniform partner. The Minnesota Timberwolves signed a pact with digital security firm Aura after a season without a jersey sponsorship.

The initial round of jersey patch deals, which were first allowed by the NBA in 2017, averaged about $9.3 million per year, according to data from sports marketing firm Wasserman.

“It’s a very exclusive club to be a part of,” said Dialpad Chief Executive Officer Craig Walker, whose San Francisco-based company also plans to hire more staff to work out of Sacramento. “It’s one of those great branding opportunities that come along once every decade.”

Blue Diamond Growers, the Sacramento-based almond company that previously had the patch, will remain a team sponsor with its logo presented elsewhere in the arena. Other Kings partners include health-care giant Kaiser Permanente, Raley’s Supermarkets and Golden 1 Credit Union, which has the stadium naming rights.

“We were drawn to Dialpad’s dynamic leadership and the ability to leverage their platform to unite and connect our global fanbase,” Kings owner Vivek Ranadive said in an email.

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