The NBA decided to put sponsor patches on their jerseys recently, which were met with mixed reviews. To some, it brought the league to the forefront of advertising, but to others it was  selling out to make a quick buck.

To be fair to the league, recent numbers say it is more that just a quick buck. It turns out, it was a quick $150 million in revenue for the NBA, per John Karalis of Mass Live.

This particular advertising strategy has worked out well for the league, but it opens doors for a lot more than just a tiny patch. Look at soccer, for example. Those jerseys are riddled with advertisements all over, and that creates more opportunities to make money.

Another example brought up by Karalis that is even closer to home for the NBA is the WNBA. They have tons of advertisements surrounding their own team logos on their jerseys. It begs the question, how much is too much?

The jersey advertising movement has clearly worked for the NBA, but the door is right there to bring in more. It’s simple math: more advertisements mean more money.

Success with the small patches is going to bring more questions on how to elevate the profits in a tasteful way. The last thing the teams want is to turn the jerseys into a busy and ugly spectacle. At the end of the day, they still need to keep up jersey sales.

Money was the goal for the NBA in adding the patches. They achieved the goal, and it was done in a way that didn’t feel intrusive. The league needs to say no to the continued expansion of this jersey advertisement movement.