NBA commissioner Adam Silver will meet with Miami Heat star LeBron James at the end of the season to discuss the possibility of ending the sleeved jerseys experiment, according to Howard Beck of Bleacher Report.
Adam Silver will consider ending NBA sleeved jerseys, according to report
The new commissioner will meet with LeBron James at the end of the season to discuss the sleeved jerseys and will consider getting rid of them if enough players speak out against them.
James has been a vocal critic of the sleeved uniforms, bashing them after a 6-of-18 performance in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs on March 6. Others have criticized the jerseys as well, but the league took special notice when James opened up about them.
Silver said he has already had conversations with James about the jerseys, but they agreed to table the discussions until after the season. At that point, a decision will be made about the future of the jerseys, and Silver isn’t opposed to getting rid of them if the players insist:
“Ultimately, if the players don’t like them, we’ll move on to something else,” Silver told Bleacher Report. “I don’t regret doing it for this season. But it’s intended to be something fun for the fans and the players. And if it becomes a serious issue, as to whether players should be wearing sleeves, we’ll likely move onto other things.”
The NBA has other options besides just getting rid of the jerseys altogether. They could be worn less frequently or possibly just used at the discretion of the individual teams.
One of the reasons the NBA turned to sleeved jerseys was to boost merchandise sales, because many fans would prefer not to wear tank tops. There has been an increase in jersey sales for some of the specialty uniforms, but the league doesn’t view them as a major source of revenue. Even so, there’s a chance the sleeved jerseys could still be sold to fans even if they’re no longer worn in games.
Some have posited the NBA turned to sleeved jerseys in order to have more room for advertisements, but Silver shot that idea down, saying that had nothing to do with the decision to try something new.
The NBPA hasn’t yet taken an official stance on the jerseys, but it will be on the agenda for the summer meeting.
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