CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cavaliers will roll with Goodyear next season.
The defending NBA champions on Monday announced a multiyear corporate sponsorship deal with Goodyear that will have the players wearing the tire giant’s iconic winged-foot logo on their jerseys starting next season.
The Cavaliers think the Akron-based manufacturer is a perfect partner, partially because of the local tie-in with superstar LeBron James, who also is from Akron. During a news conference, the Goodyear blimp circled above Quicken Loans Arena.
Last year, the league approved teams signing companies to place logos on the upper left portion of their jerseys starting with the 2017-18 season. Philadelphia, Boston, Sacramento, Utah and Brooklyn all have similar corporate partnerships.
The Cavaliers and Goodyear also announced a $1 million donation to Cleveland and Akron public schools.
While on-jersey logos are relatively new in North American sports, they’ve been part of European soccer for years.