Last Friday before their game against the Blazers, the Dallas Mavericks jersey sponsor was announced. Chime, the mobile banking app, will be featured across the jersey. Heading into the 2019-2020 season, the Mavericks were the only team without a sponsor patch on their jerseys.
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WHO IS CHIME?
Chime is a banking app based out of San Francisco, California. Chris Britt and Ryan King started the company in 2013 as a way to provide a banking service without maintenance fees or overdraft charges. According to Forbes, Chime has 6.5 million accounts and an incredible $5.8 million valuation.
The deal is reportedly three years long with the option to extend the sponsorship to five years. Most jersey sponsorships range in value between $2 million a year to upwards of $20 million a year. While the details of the deal have not been released, it’s rumored to be one of the more lucrative deals in the league.
This partnership will also enable both parties to work together on a program called, Venture – Entrepreneurial Expedition. This program is designed to help students and young adults get their feet wet in business.
A SURPRISING PARTNERSHIP
What is somewhat surprising in this partnership is that the Mavericks jersey sponsor is not a Dallas-based company. Similarly, the team also elected to go with an app as a sponsor, 5Miles. The 5Miles headquarters is in Dallas and is an app used for buying and selling items within a 5-mile radius.
As the season progressed, there were plenty of ideas of either a Dallas-based company, or at least a Texas-based company as the Mavericks’ jersey sponsor. Companies like AT&T, American Airlines, Exxon Mobile, Whataburger, 7-11 where all thrown around at one point as being a local organization with the funds to become a sponsor. However, Chime’s commitment to serve the local community is what set them apart.
With Mavs owner Mark Cuban making his mark in the technological market of business, it’s not too surprising that he went with another app as a sponsor.
“The world is changing and my history has always been about trying to get out front and trying to introduce technologies where people need them and can get ahead with them and Chime is as emblematic as that as you can possibly find,” Cuban noted in the press conference.
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