The Oklahoma City Thunder have always had a reputation for being competitive in the playoffs and a stepping stone for the top players in the NBA. The likes of James Harden, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and many more have started off their careers at OKC and reached immense heights.
In 2021, the franchise had an estimated value of US$1.5billion. Here, we take a look into their off-court brand deals that have helped them in boosting their value.
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Apparel Partner: AAWOL (“Athletic Apparel Without Limits”)
AAWOL is, as the name says, an apparel company for athletes. In 2021, it announced a multi-year partnership with the Oklahoma City Thunder which aimed at releasing collaborative products, marketing elements, in-arena signage, and various digital activations.
As per the deal, AAWOL serves as the official branding and naming partner for Thunder’s official merchandise shop.
Official Arena Naming Partner: Paycom Software
Paycom is one of America’s fastest-growing publicly traded companies.
In 2021, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Paycom announced a 15-year naming rights partnership that resulted in the former changing their arena’s name to the Paycom Center. The name change took place on July 27, 2021, and the exterior signage was completed in time for the 2021/22 season.
The naming rights agreement consists of several marquee Paycom Center signage locations, including the building’s exterior and roof, game floor, scoreboard, and also on-court signage in front of the players’ bench.
Exclusive 5G Partner: Verizon
The telecommunication industry giant has its 5G spread across 60 NBA arenas, having agreed on multi-year agreements with 15 NBA franchises, one of which is the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The company’s 5G Ultra Wideband network enables the franchises to provide their fans with more immersive experiences and allow their arenas to use next-gen solutions for operational purposes around public safety, access, concessions, and crowd management.
Official Health Partner: OU Medicine
In 2018, OU Medicine and the Oklahoma City Thunder announced a 10-year partnership which announced the former as the official health partner of the NBA franchise. According to the agreement, OU medicine joined the team on a number of organisational, medicinal, and community initiatives.
Along with this, OU medicine also provides expertise and resources to the OKC medical staff for creating elite conditions for player training, treatment, and care.
An outside part of the agreement also sees both the organisations focus on public education and awareness projects about key health and wellness issues.
Presenting Partner: Zaxby
In 2017, the Oklahoma City Thunder introduced a lot of new features to their arena as part of a partnership with Zaxby, which became the new presenting partner of the franchise. Zaxby is an American chain of fast-casual restaurants that signed a with-year partnership with the Thunder and, as per the deal, had its own zone in the stadium called ‘Zaxbyzone’.
As a part of this agreement, for every home game during the regular season and post-season, the Thunder would offer 50 pairs of tickets to fans (also registered Zaxby customers) through a drawing. Fans had to register online through midnight the day before any game and winners would be notified at least four hours prior to tipoff. This deal came to an end before the start of the 2021/22 NBA season.
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