McDonalds: Tens of WNBA fans served.

You know, I’ll be completely honest, I’m not the biggest WNBA fan. I’ve maybe seen about three quarters of WNBA action in my whole life. Obviously though, someone is watching as the WNBA tipped off their 12th season this past week. You know who else likes the WNBA? McDonalds. So much so, that you’ll be able to see the McDonalds logo on the jerseys of WNBA players for the next couple days. From the WNBA website,

The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and McDonald’s today announced a new marketing partnership that will make McDonald’s the presenting partner of “WNBA Tip-Off 2008 presented by McDonald’s.”

As part of McDonald’s presenting partnership of WNBA Tip-Off 2008, the McDonald’s logo will appear on the front of all player jerseys during WNBA Tip-Off games, marking the first time a logo other than the uniform manufacturer will appear on the WNBA uniform during the regular season. WNBA Tip-Off 2008 games include each WNBA teams’ home opener as well as nationally televised games on ABC (May 17 and 24) and ESPN2 (May 20).

Also during WNBA Tip-Off 2008 presented by McDonald’s, McDonald’s will display its logo on the court, on poll pads and on team chair-backs. McDonald’s will also promote its brand through courtside signage, in-game advertisements and a variety of in-game promotions, along with prominent exposure on WNBA.com and NBA.com during the promotion.

I’m not really sure how I feel about this. I mean, on the one hand, the WNBA needs big name sponsorship and advertising (what league couldn’t use the sponsorship money, especially one who’s popularity can be questioned), on the other hand the WNBA is essentially pimping out its players to Mickey D’s. The McDonalds logo on their uniforms? Players passing out the new McDonalds sandwich? Could you ever see NFL superstars passing out Big Mac’s to customers? NBA and MLB players reminding fans to biggie-size their Wendy’s combo meals? And no, I’m not implying that gender has anything to do with this situation, it just seems odd to have an entire league basically turn into burger flippers; its not like McDonalds did a deal with a few WNBA superstars or anything. I also wonder why the WNBA is involved in a deal that gives McDonalds so much power over the WNBA product. Logos on the court, on the players, mentioning of the restaurant during commercial breaks, etc.  It makes me wonder about the WNBA’s financial situation. I mean, I’m sure McDonalds paid a decent amount of money for this deal, but the WNBA has basically given complete autonomy to McDonalds to start the season.  Maybe the league needs Candace Parker to become a superstar moreso than initially expected.

Of course, this isn’t the first time a league has toyed with the idea of corporate sponsorship on players uniforms, as hockey and the MLS have been in discussions to include corporate logos. And of course…there’s always NASCAR.

WNBA.com: McDonalds Signs new Marketing Partnership with WNBA

LA Times: Sparks Rookie Candace Parker is exactly what the WNBA needs