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McDonald’s Adorns WNBA Jerseys

For the first time, WNBA players will be wearing jerseys sporting a sponsor logo during the regular season, due to a partnership between the league and McDonald’s.

In addition to emblazoning its logo on the jersey, McDonald’s will get its logo on the court, on poll pads and on team chair-backs, on courtside signs, and other in-game promotions, according to MediaPost. The sponsorship also gives McDonald’s the opportunity to launch its Southern Style Chicken Biscuit and Sandwiches via player appearances and sampling.

McDonald’s will air ads during the games and will have prominent placement on WNBA.com and NBA.com during the run of the promotion.

WNBA players have had logos on their jerseys before, but never during the regular season. The Discover Card was on the league’s All-Star game jerseys in 2007.

Company logos on the jerseys of U.S. professional sports teams are rare. Though the practice is popular with European teams - clubs generate millions of dollars from such partnership deals, according to Reuters - only the U.S. soccer league and NASCAR routinely sell sponsorship for team uniforms.

Too much marketing can be a turn-off to fans. Four years ago, Major League Baseball experimented with putting Spider Man 2 ads on its bases. Fan outrage was so high, however, that the league scrapped the effort.

The McDonald’s effort is one of several for the Southern style products. McDonald’s is engaging in a major sampling event in stores today, giving away breakfast biscuits and sandwiches for lunch and dinner.