The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS – Imagine the Mavericks emblem on Dirk Nowitzki’s uniform nestled next to logos for soft drinks and cars.

Mark Cuban has.

The Mavericks’ owner said uniform ad placement should be considered in separate interviews this week with Bloomberg News Service and the New York Times.

“If it were up to me, they would already be there,” Cuban told Bloomberg News Service.

He dismissed the concept of the uniform as a sacrosanct territory.

“I never understood the concept of “it cheapens the game,”‘ Cuban told the New York Times. “What does that really mean? That it helps minimize ticket price increases? The NBA is a business, and the only mistake is not to seriously consider revenue forms that make it financially stable.”

Reached Friday by The Dallas Morning News, Cuban stood by his statements and offered elaboration in an e-mail.

How much would a logo deal be worth?

“I don’t think a team could even consider doing it for less than $10 (million) per year, per team,” Cuban wrote.

NBA commissioner David Stern said the league isn’t pursuing any deals. However, he told Bloomberg that he expects it to eventually happen.

European soccer teams have signed lucrative deals for uniform logo placement.

Stock-car racing became known for plastering logos on driver uniforms and cars.

But Cuban isn’t worried about comparisons to NASCAR.

“You mean being compared to a sport where the ratings have been three (times) ours would be a bad thing?” Cuban wrote.

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