The Brooklyn Nets recently committed $36 million over three seasons to free agent guard Jeremy Lin, and the team’s marketing folks are licking their chops.
Lin started just 13 games last season in Charlotte and averaged 11.7 points a night, but his Hornets jersey was one of the most popular among NBA fans worldwide.
The Nets are hoping he can re-create some Linsanity in BK.
Per the NY Post:
“The benefit of that basketball decision is there are some business opportunities,” Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment CEO Brett Yormark said. “Those business opportunities are hopefully an expanded fan base in Brooklyn and beyond, and a driver of merchandise sales. That’s certain. He was a top-20 seller last year in jersey sales, and given the interest Jeremy generates in China and that part of the world, our games will be televised there.
“To the extent I can take advantage of him, I will. … We didn’t have a top-20 seller last year, so given the appetite of the fans, it affects ticket sales, merchandise sales and sponsors. To the extent we can be smart about growing our different business, we need to take advantage of it, and we will.”
MSG — which owns the Knicks — raised ticket prices by 27 percent and saw its stock vault 7 percent from $29.77 to $31.87 in just 10 days after Lin entered the lineup and sparked Linsanity, according to TIME Business. That added about $170 million to the company’s market cap, according to Forbes. […] That isn’t likely to happen again. But with Lin being the first American of Taiwanese or Chinese descent to play in the NBA, and 200,000 of the city’s 570,000 Chinese residing in Brooklyn, Yormark sees the vast potential. And the Nets are thinking globally, with expectations of having more games aired in China and financial experts saying that Yormark is sure to cash in on a potential gold mine.
