“Knicks sign jersey patch deal with owner James Dolan’s Sphere Entertainment.”

The New York Knicks are keeping it in the family for their next jersey patch sponsor.

Madison Square Garden Sports announced this on Tuesday Sphere entertainment will become the NBA team’s official jersey patch partner for the 2023-2024 season. The patch will be released on Wednesday night when the Knicks open the season at the Garden against the Celtics.

Both companies are owned by James Dolan, who serves as chairman of Madison Square Garden Sports and Sphere. Dolan’s latest project, The Sphere, a $2.3 billion immersive entertainment space in Las Vegas, opened in September.

Jersey patch conditions The deal was not announced.

“The MSG family of companies has an unrivaled portfolio of premium assets and we are committed to ensuring the strength of our brands and our unique global reach continue to leverage each other in impactful ways,” said David Hopkinson, President and COO of MSG Sports . said in a statement.

The Sphere logo will appear on all Knicks game, practice and warm-up jerseys. Additionally, they will appear on all jerseys sold in retail stores at Madison Square Garden and online.

The NBA’s jersey patch sponsorship program began in the 2017-2018 season and has been an important source of revenue for many clubs. The NBA’s three largest jersey sponsorships brought in a total of about $100 million last season, led by the Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Sportico.

The unusual deal involving two companies with the same owner follows a similar agreement by the Miami Heat earlier this month. The The team signed a jersey partnership with Carnival Cruise Linesboth owned by Micky Arison.

The Knicks were one of only four teams last season that didn’t have a jersey sponsor.

For the first five seasons, the Knicks partnered with website hosting and creation company Squarespace. According to Sports Business Journal, the company reportedly paid an estimated $15 million to $16 million per season for the 2.5-by-2.5-inch area on the Knicks jersey.

“Squarespace has been an excellent partner, but we expect significant upside if we extend or find a new partner in this space,” said Andrew Lustgarten, former CEO of MSG Sports, during a May 2022 earnings conference call “It is very important who the partner is who is close to our identity, so we think very carefully about who will appear on our jerseys,” he added.

Dolan was reportedly looking for the jersey patch rights 30 million dollarsaccording to SBJ.

Patrick Rishe, athletic director at Washington University in St. Louis, said the Sphere deal is a win for the Knicks.

“This is a great opportunity for the Knicks to step outside the box and innovate,” he said.

Bob Dorfman, sports marketing analyst and creative director at Pinnacle Advertising, shared that sentiment.

“The Sphere is the entertainment venue of the future, the attention it is receiving is spectacular, it is a stunning venue. The Knicks could certainly use the attention and influence of such a facility,” he said.