Salazar: NFL, Chargers taking cue from NASCAR

The Chargers are contemplating sponsorship for their practice jerseys. (AP photo)

Chargers fans, you are about to be tested by the NFL.  It’s not about the 2009 schedule.  The league is waiting to see how you react to ads on practice jerseys.

Here is what’s at stake:  opening the door to the possibility of LT suiting up and looking like NASCAR’s Kyle Busch on game days.

According to league officials, practice jersey ads are something the NFL has been considering for a while.  It took a rotten economy to get the idea approved.

During the winter, the NFL gave the go-ahead for teams to sell a 3 ½ inch by 4 ½ inch advertising patch on shoulders of practice jerseys.  The Chargers say they are now exploring advertising partnerships.  The NFL has told teams the ads cannot be for tobacco, firearms or alcohol, including beer.

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The “no beer” caveat has me screaming “hypocritical.” I assume it’s because the NFL wants beer companies to maintain large advertising budgets for commercials during televised games, giant banner ads at stadiums (i.e. Qualcomm Stadium scoreboard) and the beer logo backdrops used for post-game and practice facility press conferences.

Speaking of which, isn’t it time a San Diego brewery put its logo on the backdrop used by the Chargers?  I’m appalled every time I see a beer associated with the Broncos’ home state behind any Chargers representative.

Before the fans who scream at protecting the purity of NFL jerseys start Twittering, it needs to be pointed out that advertising on athletic gear isn’t a new development.

I’ve already cited NASCAR. For more, look overseas to soccer teams and you’ll see corporate names and logos on the front of uniforms.  Professional golfers are walking billboards.  The WNBA’s team in Phoenix is staying financially afloat right now because the uniforms will feature the name of a sponsor’s product instead of the team name, Mercury.

Ads on uniforms can also be found at the Little League Baseball level.  This season, the uniforms of the team I helped coach had ads on both sleeves.  One was for a real estate company, the other for a casino.

While grade school children are promoting gambling establishments, the NFL is embracing a facet of gambling by way of another off-season revenue-enhancing decision that has raised a few eyebrows.

The league gave teams permission to do business with state lotteries.   Soon, you will be able to buy California lottery scratch-off tickets featuring the Chargers logo.  The NFL says it’s all fine and dandy because scratching lottery tickets doesn’t affect the outcome of the league’s games.

The tie-in with lotteries and ads on practice jerseys don’t signal the end of civilization.   I see the moves as smart business decisions.  Unless an accountant or financial advisor has told NFL team owners to operate in the red, isn’t making money the goal of owning a business?

And it’s not just NFL owners who will benefit from creating these new revenue streams.   The businesses that will “shoulder” the practice jersey ads will get exposure for their brand or products.  Any increase in lottery sales is good for the schools - or so it’s been marketed for the past 20 years.

What happens from here with ads on jerseys and gambling promotions depend on what you think.  The NFL says it is paying close attention to fan reaction.  If you have an opinion, now is the time to share it.

Vic Salazar is a veteran San Diego journalist and an SDNN sports columnist.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 at 1:03 pm and is filed under Chargers . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.