The New York Times reports: The Phoenix Mercury’s new uniform no longer has the words Phoenix or Mercury. Instead, the W.N.B.A.’s Mercury appears to have been renamed LifeLock, with the 10-inch-by-4-inch name of the identity-theft protection company stretching across the team’s jerseys. A small Mercury logo (the planet, with an M) appears like a badge on the upper left of the jersey. Taking a cue from international sports, where displaying corporate names on jerseys is standard, the Mercury on Monday will announce a three-year deal with Tempe, Ariz.-based LifeLock that is worth at least $1 million annually… During an off-season when one franchise, the Houston Comets, folded and the remaining 13 cut their rosters to 11 players from 13, the W.N.B.A. authorized its teams to let companies place their names on the players’ jerseys as part of broad sponsorship agreements. At least one other team is close to a similar deal.
InsideHoops.com editor says: There isn’t anything surprising or shocking about this, though it’ll still be interesting to see with my own eyes for the first time. Because, while viewing it, I’ll be pondering the obvious: Will NBA teams do this, eventually?
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