AMERICAN WIRELESS communications provider MetroPCS has signed on as an official partner of USA Basketball in a one-year deal valued by Frontloaded at between $1m and $2m.
According to the Frontiers Deals Database, USA Basketball partnerships demand high-level sponsorship fees. USA Basketball boasts brands such as Gatorade and State Farm Insurance on its commercial roster, both of which pay up to $5m for multi-year associations.
Despite MetroPCS agreeing an initial one-year period beginning 2012, the significance of the London Olympics, for which both the men’s and women’s teams are gold medal prospects, means the national basketball organisation is likely to charge a premium fee.
Nike alone is paying around $4m per year as the kit provider to the men’s and women’s national teams in a four-year deal set to expire in 2013.
The MetroPCS deal was brokered by Dallas-based agency Richards Sports & Entertainment, which will continue to handle the activation on behalf of the communications company.
Official Partners of USA Basketball:
• Nike
• Got Milk?
• Joseph Abboud
• Las Vegas (Tourism Board)
• State Farm Insurance
• Gatorade
• Tiffany & Co.
• American Express
• Cisco
• MetroPCS