And-Ones: Jersey Ads, Ellenson, Valentine

The NBA is giving serious consideration to allowing advertising on the jerseys of teams beginning in 2017/18 and the Raptors have suggested to potential advertisers that the on-jersey ads will cost between $4MM and $5MM per season, Rick Westhead of TSN.ca relays. During their sales pitches, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment executives have discussed the prospect of ads of about 2 1/2 inches in diameter, which would be the same size as the Kia Motors Corp. ad that appeared on the NBA All-Star Game jerseys this year in Toronto, Westhead notes. MLSE is looking to set the precedent that advertisements are worth as much as $5MM per season because officials are concerned that marketers might try to use contract values secured by smaller-market teams as a bargaining chip, the TSN scribe adds.

It remains unclear how on-jersey ads would affect the revenue sharing around the league. One possible scenario drawing mention would see teams keep 50% of the revenue they generate from such ads and put the other half into a league-wide fund that is split equally between franchises, Westhead writes.

Here’s more from around the league:

• Marquette power forward Henry Ellenson has not officially chosen an agent yet, but the freshman is likely to sign with Roc Nation, relays Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times (Twitter links). The 6’10” Ellenson is initially expected to play the four in the NBA, but a number of scouts project that his best position will eventually be center, Woelfel adds. Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress list of the top 100 prospects ranks Ellenson ninth overall, while Chad Ford has him sixth in his latest ESPN Insider rankings.
• Michigan State senior shooting guard Denzel Valentine has signed with the Wasserman Media Group and agent B.J. Armstrong, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated tweets. Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors profiled Valentine last month.
• UConn small forward Daniel Hamilton, who’s planning to enter this year’s draft, intends to hire an agent, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv reports (Twitter link). If the sophomore does secure representation, it would prevent him from withdrawing from the draft and returning to school for his junior campaign.