Financial services company Robinhood said it will put its logo on an NBA team's uniform for the third time since last October, adding the Miami Heat to an ad campaign on Tuesday that also includes the Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Wizards.
Robinhood's three jersey partnerships in one league are a novel take on an advertising technique that's a relatively new phenomenon in the United States.
Until 2017, U.S. sports leagues didn’t allow any branding on uniforms during games, after which the NBA followed a longstanding practice in international club soccer and opened the door to a prime location to reach audiences.
However, European soccer teams rarely share the same uniform sponsor with other teams in their league, and as a result, uniform sponsorships become individualized, identifiable endeavors for the life of the partnership. For example, Manchester City is currently the only Premier League team to advertise Etihad Airways on the front of their uniforms.
Robinhood took a different approach in the NBA, becoming the first company to have three jersey patches at once.
Robinhood's vice president of marketing and communications, Michael Goodbody, said that while partnering with multiple brands in one European soccer league may be unusual, some companies, including Emirates Airlines and Red Bull, have had success appearing on the front of the uniforms of major clubs in different leagues at the same time.
Goodbody also said that Washington, Memphis and Miami each have different characteristics that make it worth Robinhood's efforts to partner with all three cities at once. “There are significant cultural differences between the three communities and cities, so there is a clear business advantage to connecting with multiple fan bases,” Goodbody said in an email.
All three deals were brokered and executed by Clutch Sports Group, which Robinhood had worked with before naming Rich Paul-led Clutch its “representative for sports and entertainment partnerships” in March 2024.
Last year, Clutch helped Robinhood acquire its first NBA jersey patch with the Wizards through a separate deal with Monumental Sports, and in June it inked a patch deal with the WNBA's Washington Mystics, helping Robinhood make its first investment in women's sports. Robinhood also aligned with Washington, Monumental and Clutch because DC is CEO Vlad Tenev's hometown and it was an opportunity for the company to gain a stronger foothold in the nation's capital.
Robinhood liked the results of its Washington project and set its sights on Memphis and Miami this summer.
Regarding the Grizzlies, Goodbody said Robinhood feels they are “undervalued compared to other teams in the league” and appreciates how the Grizzlies position themselves as a “rough town.” “The Grizzlies boast the most impressive social reach in the league, which is a key component of any deal,” Goodbody said.
Meanwhile, Miami already has a large Robinhood customer base that it wants to expand, and Clutch helped negotiate the company's third jersey patch deal.
Klutch was originally founded with a focus on athlete representation but has since sought to diversify its portfolio of services. Managing brand-to-team marketing operations has been a fruitful niche for Klutch. Its first success was announced in July 2021: a jersey patch deal brokered between the Houston Rockets and fintech company Credit Karma Money.
The company has found a willing partner in Robinhood to test the merits of its mass jersey patch approach in the NBA market.
