The Los Angeles (LA) Lakers, the major NBA basketball franchise, have formally opened the bidding process for a new jersey patch partner from the 2026-27 season onward, which will replace outgoing sponsor Bibigo, the Korean food brand.
The franchise’s five-year contract with Bibigo, which began in 2021, is set to end after the current NBA season, and the team is now inviting bids for the next campaign and beyond.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The offer has been described by the franchise as a “category-defining sponsorship,” which will give one brand “high-visibility, premium brand placement and recurring, high-volume exposure with the Lakers.”
To drum up interest, the franchise cited its broadcast presence in over 230 markets, hundreds of millions of global fans, and around 89 million social media followers, as well as previous and current legends Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Luka Doncic, who could provide marketing opportunities to the eventual winner.
Jim Snodgrass, Lakers vice president of corporate partnerships, has said: “The Lakers are one of the most recognizable brands in the world, synonymous with greatness, championships, style, and legacy.
“There’s no question the value of the Lakers starts on the court in the heart of Los Angeles and uniquely extends across culture and entertainment to reach people everywhere.”
The Team, the US-based sports marketing giant formerly known as Wasserman, serves as the team’s exclusive commercial agency through a partnership struck in 2024 under a deal that aims to bolster the Lakers’ portfolio of global brands.
The agency took over from international marketing agency Sportfive, which was hired by the Lakers in 2021 to secure a new jersey patch sponsor (Bibago) and up to three sponsorships with international brands.
The Lakers have only had two jersey patch partners since the program was opened, starting with e-commerce platform Wish, which held the rights between 2017 and 2021 in a deal worth approximately $12 million to $14 million.
Bibigo then took over the designation from 2021 to 2026 in a deal worth $100 million ($20 per season), becoming the first South Korean company to secure an NBA jersey patch deal, with the partnership aimed at boosting the team’s footprint in Asia.
While Bibigo’s agreement was worth far more than Wish’s, it extended beyond the NBA and included branding across the South Bay Lakers, the franchise’s team in the developmental G League, and its esports division.
The tender comes months after Billionaire businessman Mark Walter completed his purchase of the Lakers, after gaining unanimous approval from the league’s board of governors.
Walter, the chief executive and chairman of holding company TWG Global and already a minority shareholder in the Lakers, has acquired a majority stake through an agreement with the Buss family that values the team at $10 billion.
