The Indiana Pacers, of North American basketball's NBA, have announced local tech startup Spokenote as the team’s official jersey patch sponsor.
The team becomes the first NBA franchise to feature a QR code-type patch on their jersey, with Spokenote’s patch featuring a code that will, once scanned, lead fans to unique Pacers content online.
The patch will appear on all Pacers jerseys through the regular season, starting from their match-up against the Milwaukee Bucks tonight (January 3), and through to the post-season, should the team qualify.
Todd Taylor, president and chief commercial officer of parent company Pacers Sports & Entertainment, said the Indiana-based brand’s “innovative product” will aid the team in engaging with its fans through new means.
He added: “We are extremely proud to assist a local startup on its journey to becoming a widely known consumer brand."
Spokenote founder John Weschler said: “Spokenote is thrilled to join the Pacers, one of basketball’s hottest and most exciting young teams, as their new jersey patch partner, and we look forward to working alongside them to identify new ways to engage fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and beyond.”
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By GlobalDataThe Pacers had previously sported global telecommunications firm Motorola as its jersey patch sponsor from 2018 through to the end of the 2023 season.
The partnership between the Pacers and Spokenote means that there are only three NBA franchises yet to secure a jersey patch sponsor for the already underway 2024 NBA season.
The Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, and Portland Trail Blazers are all currently without patch sponsors, with the Clippers and Grizzlies’ last partnerships ending at the end of the 2023 season, and the Trail Blazers having been without a patch sponsor since the end of the 2022 season.
This follows the most recent NBA patch announcement in November 2023, where the Atlanta Hawks revealed the charity organization the YMCA of Metro Atlanta as its sponsor jersey patch sponsor.