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Gatorade has become synonymous over the years as a recovery beverage of choice for NBA players and during an iconic advertising campaign with former star Michael Jordan.
The company will become more closely aligned with the league itself as the NBA Development League will change its name to the NBA Gatorade League. The deal will include rebranding that will change the league’s logo, basketball and jerseys as well as include on-court signage and other digital properties.
It will also enable the league to take advantage of Gatorade’s Sports Science Institute, which has already been used by Dwyane Wade in his recovery testing over the years.
“This isn’t about slapping a name on a league,” NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum told the Associated Press. “This is much, much deeper than that.”
The NBA declined to reveal the length or financial details of the deal. But it’s clear the league and its partner will be involved in many projects.
The NBA will begin with sponsorship patches on its jerseys next season. The Utah Jazz became the sixth team in the league to announce a deal when they hooked up with Qualtrics on Monday, using some of the proceeds for cancer research. Patches on NBA jerseys are limited in size to 2½ inches by 2½ inches.
The league currently has 22 teams, including the Austin Spurs owned by the parent team. The league plans to add three more teams for next season.
Tgriffin@express-news.net
Twitter: @TimGriffinBig12
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