Lakers land $100 million deal to make Korean food company their jersey sponsor
The Los Angeles Lakers have a new jersey sponsor, and it paid a hefty price for the 2.5 square inches of real estate.
Korean food company Bibigo will succeed e-commerce platform Wish as the Lakers' new sponsor, the team revealed on Monday. You can see how the company's logo will look here:
Lakers 🤝 @bibigoUSA
We’re proud to introduce our new patch partner and first ever global marketing partner. pic.twitter.com/xwxUPQOgtV— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) September 21, 2021
According to the Los Angeles Times' Bill Shaikin, the Lakers' deal with Bibigo is for five years and a whopping $100 million. For reference, Wish's deal was in the $12-14 million per year range; Bibigo will be paying at least $6 million per year more.
It's not surprising the Lakers, the team with LeBron James, a recent NBA championship and one of the NBA's biggest markets are the team to land such a deal. The team carries enormous weight when it comes to national NBA broadcasts and social media footprint, not to mention its international reach.
That latter factor obviously played a large role in the Bibigo deal, as the Lakers say their deal will make Bibigo their first ever global marketing partner.
From the Times:
“The Lakers are the No. 1 team in sports,” said Wookho Kyeong, chief marketing officer of CJ CheilJedang, the parent company of Bibigo. “The Lakers are more than just a basketball team. The Lakers, globally, are a cultural icon, especially for young people.”
That global partnership comes thanks to a recent NBA rule change allowing such deals, and it's hard to imagine more teams won't be interested.