The L.A. Clippers and Bumble have agreed on the terms of a sponsorship deal, according to a report from Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.com. The agreement, which is said to be valued somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million, marks the beginning of Bumble's logo being prominently sewn on the front of their jerseys.
This partnership is more than a patch.
Proud to stand with @Bumble for diversity and gender equality.
We are #StrongerWithHer.For more info, please visit: https://t.co/1CRln6I2Xk pic.twitter.com/S7hHUk8ek3
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) March 6, 2018
As most hoops fans know, this is the first year the NBA has allowed sponsorship on their jerseys. Several teams around the league are already on-board with the new campaign.
For the record: Bumble is a location-based social network company best known for a dating app in which women make the initial move. The company is controlled by Andrey Andreev, a Russian entrepreneur and the founder of Badoo, a dating site popular in Europe and Latin America.
Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd noted that she was drawn to the NBA's global footprint and gender diversity. As Soshnick points out in his article, the Clippers have the largest female leadership team in the NBA under President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker.
Article Continues Below“We saw the opportunity to create change together,” Wolfe Herd said in an interview. “When you see this logo it stands for something more. It stands for empowerment.”
In a recent interview, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer admitted that he had spoken with several companies in the selection process, but the opportunity to align with Bumble was “fascinating.”
“It's a great opportunity to associate a brand, mostly with women, with sports — and the Clippers,” Ballmer said. “There just aren’t that many presidents of any sports teams who are women and well-equipped to make that bridge.”
The Clippers — now the 2nd-ranked team in the Pacific Division standings with a 34-28 overall record, will be back in action on Tuesday night, as they're scheduled to host the New Orleans Pelicans inside the Staples Center. Tip-off is set for 10:30 p.m. EST with TNT having live broadcast coverage.