Chicago Bulls are working with leading sports marketing agency SportFive to secure sponsors from outside the United States of America.
The exclusive tie-up will see SportFive leverage its worldwide sales network to help the basketball team find international partners. SportFive reportedly generates over US$1 billion in sales per year for its rights holder clients
As per recently introduced rules in National Basketball Association (NBA), every team will be able to sell international sponsorship rights to two partners under a three-year pilot program that started in 2019.
The Bulls’ decision to step up their search for international sponsors highlights the popularity of the league across the globe. The Last Dance documentary series about Michael Jordan and his final season with the team was watched by 23.8 million Netflix users globally in its first four weeks on the streaming service, highlighting the admiration for the sport in different countries.
“With more than 100 million Bulls fans around the world, we understand the importance of establishing distinct connections with all of our fans, even if they never have the chance to attend a game in person,” said Mark Levitt, senior director of business development for the Bulls.
Levitt also insisted that Bulls are looking forward to making the most of these strategic partnerships with international brands.
Since the introduction of the new sponsorship rules, the Washington Wizards signed a deal with Japanese information technology and electronics company NEC, becoming the first team in NBA to sign an international partnership