The Japanese tech giant Rakuten has renewed its sponsorship deal with the Golden State Warriors, which started in 2017. The amount paid – $20 million a year. That figures to be one the larger team jersey collaborations for a long time.
Rakuten’s interest belies the budding growth in popularity and skillset of one Stephen Curry who himself signed earlier this season the most lucrative contract in NBA history for a whopping $201M contract over 5 years at an average of more than $40.2M per year.
While the dollar figure might sound preposterous on the surface, consider that the following:
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- The average NBA franchise’s value in 2021 was over $2.2B. The Knicks, despite their struggles in recent years, kept the top spot at $5B.
- Adam Silver, the NBA’s commissioner, is projecting $10B in revenue this season, with an increase in TV viewership when much of the league was in lockdown last year due to the onset of the Covid pandemic or was playing in a limited capacity in the bubble.
Rakuten’s extended sponsorship is rumored to include brand visibility inside the team’s Chase Center home venue and across the Warriors’ digital platform.
Furthermore, Rakuten stands to continue to be the Warrior’s official affiliate marketing partner, official video-on-demand partner, and official ecommerce partner.
Rakuten promises to work as well within the San Francisco Bay community in a positive way.
When it comes to brand management, there’s the objective and the subjective. Fast-forward to last month, Stephen Curry eclipsed Ray Allen’s career record for the most 3-pointers made of all-time.
The man is must-see TV, and for a brand like Rakuten the sky’s the limit.