List of NBA Licensees as of 2020 and a bit of a look back in time

Here we are – 2020 – and if you are trying to find out what companies are licensed to make products for the NBA, you have come to the right place.

Allow me to offer a bit of background…

Eight years have passed since 2012 when I launched a searchable Online Directory of 2500+ North American Licensed Sports Products Companies – LicensedSports.net. This is a highly searchable directory of licensed sports products companies in North America. There are companies that have been licensed by various sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAA, MLS, NASCAR, NFLPA, MLBPA, NHLPA and others). You can search by licenses held, product categories, by city or state or country of the licensee, and many other searchable fields. Virtually every company record has addresses, phone numbers, websites, contact names, titles, email addresses, Linkedin url’s, etc.  It costs just $59 to use the database for three months. There is nowhere else on the internet that you can find this info – it just doesn’t exist anywhere else. And I update the database weekly, sometimes daily. So if you need details about the companies licensed by the NBA, please sign up – it’s just $59 for three months. If you're not sure if this database would be worth the investment, check out this 3-minute video that gives you a sense of what to expect.

So while I encourage you to subscribe to the actual online directory to get up-to-date (and far more detailed) information, here is a snapshot of the 181 current NBA licensees in the database as of 2020.

January 2020

List of NBA / National Basketball Association Licensees

1 - 2K Sports / Take Two Interactive Software Inc. / T2

2 - Active Dreamers

3 - adidas America / Reebok (Sports Licensed Division)

4 - Alleson Athletic- a div of Founder Sport Group

5 - Aluminati Skateboards- a division of Frontier Aluminum

6 - Americus Diamond

7 - Amicus Publishing

8 - Aminco USA / Aminco International

9 - Amscan Inc. / Amscan Holdings

10 - The Antigua Group

11 - Applied Icon

12 - Authentic Street Signs

13 - Baby Fanatic

14 - Basic Fun - formerly Good Stuff / Win Stuff / The Bridge Direct

15 - bathletics- a division of LaBottega

16 - Bauerfeind Medical

17 - Bensussen Deutsch & Associates / BDA

18 - BIC Inc. / Bic USA

19 - Bleacher Creatures / Uncanny Brands / Phenom Gallery

20 - Bling it On by Titana / Titania Bling

21 - Boelter Brands

22 - The Bradford Exchange Ltd.

23 - Branded Custom Sportswear Inc. / BCS - Nike

24 - Branded Logistics

25 - BT Swim / Blue Torrent

26 - Build A Bear Retail Management Inc.

27 - Bulletin / Tricot Mondial Inc.

28 - Camelot Fabrics

29 - Care + Wear

30 - Columbia Sportswear by OCS / Outdoor Custom Sportswear

31 - Concepts Sport

32 - Converse

33 - Creative Apparel Concepts Inc.

34 - Cufflinks

35 - Curriculum Associates

36 - Dapper Labs - NBA Top Shot / Axiom Zen

37 - Designs by Chad & Jake

38 - Disruptive Media Publishers Inc.

39 - DMA United / Westbrook Frames

40 - DRKBLU

41 - EA Sports - Electronic Arts

42 - Eagles Wings

43 - The Emblem Source

44 - Enterbay USA

45 - Express

46 - Fabrique Innovations / Sykel / Scrub Dudz / Collegiate Snuggie

47 - Fan Brander

48 - Fanatics - TeamFanShop - FansEdge - divisions of Kynetic

49 - Fanatics Authentic / Mounted Memories

50 - Fanatics Brands / Fanatics Apparel / Let Loose By Fanatics Apparel / Fanatics Licensed Sports Group

51 - Fanatics Majestic Athletic Co. / VF and VFC / VF Licensed Sports Group

52 - FanDuel

53 - FatHead- LLC

54 - FISLL- a division of H & H Legacy- LLC

55 - Fliips

56 - Forever Collectibles / FOCO / Team Beans

57 - Forty Seven Brand / Twins '47 Headwear/ Banner '47 Apparel

58 - From The Bench Games

59 - Funko

60 - G-III Apparel / G-III Leather Fashions Inc. / G-III Sports by Carl Banks / 58 Sport / Touch by Alyssa Milano

61 - GameDay Case / Winner Wireless / NEOCube

62 - Gameday Couture- LLC

63 - Gamevil Inc.

64 - Gertex Hosiery

65 - Great American Products Inc.

66 - Happy Feet- a division of NJD Specialty Retail- Inc.

67 - Harman International

68 - Herschel Supply Company

69 - The Highland Mint / Bullion International

70 - Homage

71 - Hybrid Apparel / Hybrid T's

72 - Icer Brands - UNK NBA

73 - Icon AI

74 - IDNA Brands / Sportula Products

75 - Ikonick

76 - Innovative Concepts in Entertainment / ICE Games

77 - Interactive Play Technologies

78 - ISlide

79 - Item Of The Game - Maingate

80 - Jarden Sports Licensing- LP / Rawlings Sporting Goods - a division of Newell Rubbermaid

81 - Jason of Beverly Hills

82 - Jewel Craft

83 - JH Design Group / Jeff Hamilton

84 - Jones Golf Bags

85 - JR286

86 - Junk Food Clothing / Delta Apparel

87 - Kidrobot

88 - Kolder

89 - Label Daddy- LLC

90 - Levelwear / Accolade Group / Accolade USA

91 - Levi Strauss Co. / Levi's / Dockers

92 - Little Earth Productions Inc.

93 - Logo Brands / Logo Inc.

94 - Logoart - A Division of Jewel-Craft Inc.

95 - Loot Crate / Sport Crate

96 - Lucky Explorers

97 - Lulu DK Lifestyle LLC

98 - Maccabi Art

99 - Malbon Golf

100 - Mars / M&M's / Mars Retail Group

101 - Math Hoops - Learn Fresh Education Co.

102 - McArthur Towel and Sports- a Wincraft Company

103 - McFarlane Toys / TMP International

104 - MeiGray Group

105 - The Memory Company

106 - Mitchell and Ness Nostalgia Company

107 - Mitchener-Farrand Jewelers

108 - Mojo Licensing - a division of Concept One - formerly Denco Sports Luggage Inc.

109 - MuscleAidTape

110 - Nap Cap

111 - Nemcor Inc.

112 - New Era Apparel - 5th & Ocean Clothing

113 - New Era Cap Co. Inc.

114 - NHS dba Nor-Cal Clothing

115 - Nike USA / Nike Team Sports

116 - The Northwest Company LLC

117 - OpSec Security

118 - Outerstuff

119 - Panini Group / Panini America

120 - Party Animal Inc.

121 - Pearl Street Caviar

122 - Pegasus Sports LLC - a division of Pegasus Home Fashions

123 - Perfect Timing Brands. / Turner Licensing / The Lang Companies / By Design

124 - PersonalizationMall.com - a division of Bed Bath and Beyond

125 - Pets First Inc.

126 - Photo File Inc. / Photofile Inc.

127 - Pintrill

128 - Poolmaster

129 - Pop Sockets

130 - Pro Specialties Group Inc.

131 - Pro Standard

132 - Profile Enterprises

133 - PSP Sports - Hoop Magazine

134 - PwrPods

135 - Rastaclat LLC

136 - Refried Tees

137 - Rico Industries / Tag Express

138 - Robin-Ruth USA / RR West Coast

139 - Saber Interactive

140 - Scobre Press

141 - Seamus Golf

142 - Shut LLC

143 - Silver Crystal Sports / FanZones dot com

144 - Skinit Inc. / Global Wireless Entertainment

145 - Sleakers / SLKRS

146 - Snaps

147 - Spalding / Huffy Sports- a Division of Russell Brands

148 - Spec Seats- Inc.

149 - Sportiqe Apparel Co.

150 - Sportradar US- a division of Sportsradar AG

151 - Sports Licensing Solutions LLC- formerly Fanmats

152 - Sprayground

153 - Stahls' Inc. / Hotronix

154 - Stance Socks

155 - Stay Charged Up

156 - Steiner Sports

157 - Tailgate / Tailgate Clothing Company / T-University / Threadless - a div of American Eagle Outfitters

158 - Tee Shirt Central

159 - Tervis Tumbler

160 - The Dunk Collection

161 - The Upper Deck Company / Upper Deck Authenticated

162 - The Very Warm

163 - Tissot

164 - Top Dog Collectibles Inc.

165 - Trends International USA

166 - Trends International- LLC

167 - Triumph Books

168 - Twelve Twenty One / 1221

169 - Two Hype

170 - Under Armour

171 - UPI Marketing Inc. / Team Keys

172 - Vice Golf

173 - Victor Solomon  / Literally Balling

174 - Victory Tailgate

175 - Wax Works / Team Marketing

176 - West Coast Novelty / WCN Group

177 - Williams-Sonoma Inc. / Pottery Barn / PB Teen

178 - Wincraft Inc.

179 - Winning Streak Sports

180 - Zephyr Graf-X / Zephyr Headwear / Mission Belts / Tokyodachi

181 - Zipway NBA Apparel / Oved

I have also pasted below a jpg of the same list showing the City, State/Province and Country of each of these 181 NBA licensees. But once again, remember that if you subscribe to the searchable directory for $59 for three months, you will get complete information on each company and you can search using all sorts of criteria.

Elsewhere in this blog you can find a similar article I posted in March 2012. At that time I posted the list of the then 109 NBA licensees, and I have pasted that list immediately below.

March 2012

List of NBA / National Basketball Association Licensees as of 2012

1 2K Sports / Take Two Interactive

2 5th & Ocean- a division of New Era

3 A & A Global Industries

4 Accolade Group / Accolade USA / Levelwear

5 A-DATA

6 adidas America / Reebok

7 The Antigua Group

8 Authentic Street Signs

9 Bleacher Creatures

10 Boelter Brands

11 B for Betsy

12 Bombo Sports and Entertainment

13 Brite Lite Logos

14 Charm 14

15 ComfyFeet

16 Concept One Accessories

17 Coveroo

18 Creative Innovisions

19 Cufflinks

20 Dazadi / Harvil

21 Deco Pac

22 Designs by Chad & Jake

23 Dreamseats LLC

24 Eagles Wings

25 Fan Mats

26 FatHead LLC

27 For Bare Feet / FBF Sportswear

28 Forever Collectibles aka Team Beans

29 Forty Seven Brand / Twins í47 Headwear/ Banner í47 Apparel

30 Franco Apparel Group- a division of Infinity Group

31 Game Time Geeks / Flash Ventures / Tribeca

32 Game Time Watch / Game Time LLC

33 GameWear International / Wear The Game

34 G-III Leather Fashions Inc. / G-III Sports / 58 Sport

35 Good Stuff / Win Stuff

36 Great American Products

37 Guidecraft

38 The HB Group LLC

39 The Highland Mint / Bullion International

40 Hunter Canada

41 Hunter Manufacturing

42 Icer Brands - UNK NBA

43 ID Blingz

44 IMAGIX†/ LDT Import-Export

45 Imperial USA

46 Industry Rag / Majestic Threads

47 Jarden Sports Licensing- LP

48 JF Turner / John F. Turner & Co. / Lang Holdings - See Perfect Timing

49 JH Design Group / Jeff Hamilton

50 Junk Food Clothing

51 Knights Apparel- Inc.

52 Kolder

53 Little Earth Productions Inc.

54 Logo Chair Company

55 Logoart - A Division Of Herff Jones- Inc.

56 Majestic Athletic / Majestic Industries / VF and VFC

57 McArthur Towel and Sports- a Wincraft Company

58 McFarlane Toys / TMP International

59 MDI Entertainment- a Scientific Games Company

60 Milliken Rugs / Milliken and Company

61 Mounted Memories

62 National Design

63 National Emblem

64 New England Flag and Banner

65 New Era Cap Co. Inc.

66 NIKE USA

67 The Northwest Company LLC

68 Pangea Brands

69 Panini Group / Panini America

70 The Party Animal Inc.

71 Perfect Timing- Inc.

72 Phiten USA

73 Photo File Inc.

74 Power Balance LLC

75 Power Decal- a division of Axiz Group

76 Pro Specialties Group

77 Profile

78 Promark / Team Promark

79 Pure Orange Inc.

80 Reebok - Mitchell and Ness Nostalgia Company

81 Reebok - Outerstuff- a division of adidas

82 Reebok - Sports Licensed Division

83 Replay Photos LLC

84 Rico Industries / Tag Express

85 Sara Lynn Togs / College Concepts / Concepts Sport

86 Siskiyou Gifts / Siskiyou Buckle Co.

87 Skinit Inc.

88 Spalding / Huffy Sports- a Division of Russell Brands

89 Sportiqe Apparel Co.

90 Sports Coverage

91 Sporty K9

92 Team Grill Inc.

93 TeamHeads

94 Tervis Tumbler

95 Three60 Gear- a Division of A&E Group

96 Top Dog Collectibles Inc.

97 Top Shelf Coffee Inc.

98 Topperscot

99 Trends International- LLC

100 Trends International USA

101 Triumph Books

102 UPI Marketing Inc. / Team Keys

103 The Upper Deck Company

104 Virtual Greats LLC

105 VOmax

106 Warface By Design

107 Warner Home Video / Warner Brothers

108 Wincraft Inc.

109 Winning Streak Sports

Now comes the fun part – of the 109 licensees in 2012, how many companies do you think are still licensees in 2020 (remember that there are now 181 licensees)? Would you guess 80 companies (73%)? Maybe 70 companies (65%)?

The answer is 50 companies – 46%. Drink that in for a minute – of the 109 NBA licensees in 2012, a short eight years later only 50 (46%) are still NBA licensees.

Let’s look at this another way – of the 181 NBA licensees as of 2020, just 28% - only 50 companies - were NBA licensees in 2012, just eight short years ago. Holy smokes!

Here are the 50 NBA licensees from 2012 that are still NBA licensees in 2020:

1 - 2K Sports / Take Two Interactive Software Inc. / T2

2 - adidas America / Reebok (Sports Licensed Division)

3 - Authentic Street Signs

4 - Bensussen Deutsch & Associates / BDA

5 - Bleacher Creatures / Uncanny Brands / Phenom Gallery

6 - Boelter Brands

7 - Cufflinks

8 - Designs by Chad & Jake

9 - Eagles Wings

10 - Fanatics (was known as Majestic Athletic / Majestic Industries / VF and VFC)

11 - FatHead LLC

12 - Forever Collectibles / FOCO / Team Beans

13 - Forty Seven Brand / Twins '47 Headwear/ Banner '47 Apparel

14 - G-III Apparel / G-III Leather Fashions Inc. / G-III Sports by Carl Banks / 58 Sport / Touch by Alyssa Milano

15 - Great American Products Inc.

16 - Icer Brands - UNK NBA

17 - Jarden Sports Licensing- LP / Rawlings Sporting Goods - a division of Newell Rubbermaid

18 - JH Design Group / Jeff Hamilton

19 - Junk Food Clothing / Delta Apparel

20 - Kolder

21 - Little Earth Productions Inc.

22 - Logo Brands / Logo Inc.

23 - Logoart - A Division of Jewel-Craft- Inc.

24 - McArthur Towel and Sports- a Wincraft Company

25 - McFarlane Toys / TMP International

26 - Mitchell and Ness Nostalgia Company

27 - New Era Apparel - 5th & Ocean Clothing

28 - New Era Cap Co. Inc.

29 - Nike USA / Nike Team Sports

30 - Outerstuff

31 - Panini Group / Panini America

32 - Perfect Timing Brands. / Turner Licensing / The Lang Companies / By Design

33 - Photo File Inc. / Photofile Inc.

34 - Pro Specialties Group Inc.

35 - Rico Industries / Tag Express

36 - Skinit Inc. / Global Wireless Entertainment

37 - Spalding / Huffy Sports- a Division of Russell Brands

38 - Sportiqe Apparel Co.

39 - Sports Licensing Solutions LLC- formerly Fanmats

40 - Tervis Tumbler

41 - The Antigua Group

42 - The Highland Mint / Bullion International

43 - The Northwest Company LLC

44 - The Upper Deck Company / Upper Deck Authenticated

45 - Top Dog Collectibles Inc.

46 - Trends International USA

47 - Triumph Books

48 - UPI Marketing Inc. / Team Keys

49 - Wincraft Inc.

50 - Winning Streak Sports

Let me share one other fact with you. In the time that I have been maintaining my licensee database - from 2012 to the writing of this posting in 2020 - I have built a list of a whopping 227 companies who once held an NBA license in the last eight years but no longer do. That’s 227 companies over a fairly short eight year period. Yikes! If you want to see the list, subscribe to my database and you can see for yourself. (You might ask – why would someone have any interest in a list of former NBA licensees – what good would that info do me? My answer is simple – if you are an aspiring NBA licensee and you want to learn some lessons BEFORE you became an NBA licensee, here’s a remarkable list of 227 companies and people who have first hand experience being NBA licensees. And because my database has people’s LInkedin url’s, you could find many of these people even though they have long since changed jobs and even industries – the lessons they learned are there for you to learn from if you wish.)

How do the Big Four pro sports leagues compare in this regard – how many companies once held a license from the NFL / MLB / NBA / NHL between 2012 and 2020 but no longer do?

According to my stats, here are how many companies were licensees of a league between 2012 and 2020 but are no longer licensees of that same league:

NFL – 61 companies (about 36% of the current number of NFL licensees)

MLB – 142 companies (about 57% of the current number of MLB licensees)

NBA – 227 companies (about 125% of the current number of NBA licensees)

NHL – 122 companies (about 57% of the current number of NHL licensees)

So what are we to take away from this?

I’d say there are three main takeaways:

1. The fact that only 28% of the current NBA licensees were NBA licensees just eight short years ago tells me this isn’t a business for the faint of heart. That is a lot of turnover, all of which happened in a period of fairly robust economic activity. Scary to think what the number would have been if there had been a tough economy.

2. The fact that the NBA currently has 181 licensees and yet there are 227 companies that are no longer licensees but were at one point in the last eight years also suggests to me, no perhaps screams to me, that being an NBA licensee is not for the faint of heart. You had better be darned sure that you want to enter this licensing space.

3. The fact that the number of NBA licensees grew from 109 to 181 over eight years suggests to me that the NBA is open to new licensees. So if you are an aspiring NBA licensee, that’s a good thing - it says to me that the NBA is open to ideas.

Allow me a parting comment: I am a consultant and that's how I make my living. My speciality as a consultant is working with people who would like to obtain their own (sports) license, as well as working with people who would prefer to work with an existing licensee. Often times people don't know the pluses and minuses of each so we discuss both and then they are better able to decide which route is best for them. I work a number of ways, but the most popular are hourly telephone consulting and full day face-to-face consulting sessions where I come right to your place of work and meet with you.

Many thanks for your time and fire away if you have questions!

Scott Sillcox

E: ssillcox@rogers.com

Cell: 416-315-4736