The NBA rejects dominance

The CBA's sneaker turmoil was caused by the monopoly of league sponsors, which formed a monopoly on game shoes, resulting in a conflict of interest between players and the league. So, as the world's most successful basketball league, what does the NBA say about sneakers?

The NBA's specific rules regarding sneakers are: "Players can wear basketball shoes made by shoe manufacturers according to their choice." Sneakers must be designed for basketball games, and the left and right shoes must match the color and design, please do not add glitter accessories to the shoes. In terms of boot colours, players can wear white, grey, black, and other colours that match the team's main colour. ”

In the NBA's sneaker management terms, the design and color of the sneakers are emphasized, and the reason why BA does not use sneakers as a selling point to make money from sponsors like CBA is that the fundamental reason is that the NBA's revenue model, they rely on TV broadcasts, online live broadcasts, tickets and related products, and they have already made a lot of money.

In addition, the NBA's business operations have always emphasized win-win results, and the interests of the league, players and businesses must be protected.

The core product of the NBA is the game, and it is the players who determine the quality of the game, so the biggest wealth of the NBA is actually the players, so the health of the players is the most important thing for the league. If the players play well, the NBA can get a huge economic pie from the broadcasters. Take the NBA's broadcast contract with ESPN and TNT as an example, with a total price of $24 billion over nine years, and the most direct effect of this contract is reflected in the skyrocketing wave of player wages that began this summer, with the NBA selling players for money and then giving players back.

When a player performs well, they will be favored by a sneaker sponsor, who will create a sneaker based on the player's playing characteristics, foot characteristics and personal preferences. In terms of protection, this kind of exclusive sneaker will undoubtedly have better protection than sneakers such as CBA.

In addition, the NBA does not make exclusive articles on sneakers, but takes the route of a hundred flowers, so that major manufacturers have the opportunity to show. In this way, the players benefit, the merchants are satisfied, and the players have greater exposure through the sponsor's packaging, which is actually equivalent to the NBA obtaining publicity effects through multiple channels, and also forming the league's sneaker culture, why not? If you're only working with one sponsor, you're actively isolating other brands, not only hurting the players' feelings, but also emasculating the league's own interests.

The mysterious Jordan was punished

The main circulating version of this incident is that Jordan wore the Air Jordan 1 in red and black in the 1984-85 season, violating the league's rules on jersey and shoe consistency, and the league warned Jordan that if he wore the shoes of this color again, he would be fined $5,000 per game, and as a result, Jordan had to wear them, and Nike stated that he would pay all the fines for Jordan.

Not long ago, senior shoe fans and reporters pointed out that Jordan was not banned from wearing the red and black Air Jordan 1 at that time, but the red and black Air Ship, and the league was only a warning at the time, not a fine, and the so-called Jordan was fined for Air Jordan 1 may be just a successful marketing. Regardless of the truth of the events of the year, one thing is certain, that is, the league had strict rules on the color of sneakers at that time, black and white sneakers were the mainstream, and other colors were illegal.

A special calendar for sneakers

By Christmas, green, red and gold sneakers can be used, and on Valentine's Day the red version is the main one. The NBA, which focuses on international promotion, has included the Chinese New Year in the flexible use of sneaker colors, and players are allowed to wear gold and other auspicious and beautiful color boots on the day of the Spring Festival. "We encourage players to show their individuality and promote the team and the league's main colors," Arena said, "and players can also show off the holiday culture through the color of their shoes." ”

Up to now, the NBA has set 18 season time points, and BA has a dedicated staff to design the corresponding shoe calendar to mark which day is the day to use the sneaker color scheme flexibly. These small details show great wisdom.

Hello is really good

It's a feature of the NBA to involve players and sponsors when the league sets business-related rules, and they've always followed the principle that what's good is really good, and the same goes for the shoe color reform. "We've got some special requests," said Arena, "some from shoe manufacturers and some from players. A lot of our players have a keen sense of style and they want to be different when it comes to their shoes. We felt it was important to give manufacturers and players the opportunity to showcase their design ideas in the sneaker sector. ”

The NBA sets rules that are in the interests of the league, players and sponsors, and the next step is to monitor the enforcement, but according to Arena, there are only a handful of violations. Because the rules of the league are for the purpose of win-win, considering the interests of many parties, players and sponsors will naturally actively abide by them, and the team also has a dedicated equipment manager, and the situation of changing shoes due to conflicts of interest is unlikely in the NBA.

It is precisely because violations are rare, and even if they do occur, mostly because of the mistakes of players or team equipment managers, and rarely intentionally, that the NBA does not need to bother with specific penalties. "If there's a violation, it's usually a warning, and the offending player may not be very well informed and we'll help him get used to the rules," Arena said.

(Coins)

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