Short version: Paragraph 13(b) of the NBA's Uniform Player Contract says a player won't sponsor commercial products, or do a few other public things, without the team's written consent. The team can withhold that consent only in its own or the league's reasonable interests, and a player and team may agree to strike the paragraph out.
Every NBA player contract starts from one form. Article II, Section 1 of the 2023 collective bargaining agreement says each player's contract "shall be a Uniform Player Contract in the form annexed hereto as Exhibit A." Paragraph 13 of that form is about promotion.
Written consent means the team says yes on paper. The rest of the sentence says when it can say no.
The sentence
Here is paragraph 13(b), word for word from both the players' union's copy and the league's copy of the agreement:
"The Player agrees that, during any year of this Contract, he will not make public appearances, participate in radio or television programs, permit his picture to be taken, write or sponsor newspaper or magazine articles, or sponsor commercial products without the written consent of the Team, which shall not be withheld except in the reasonable interests of the Team or the NBA."
What it says in plain words
Written consent means the team signs off on paper first. The sentence covers five things. The last one is a player's own business: sponsoring commercial products, which is what an endorsement deal is.
The second half sets a limit. The team can't withhold its yes for any reason at all, only "in the reasonable interests of the Team or the NBA." The form doesn't list what those interests are.
A 1986 decision decides how it's read
The paragraph ends with one more sentence. It says 13(b) "shall be interpreted in accordance with the decision in Portland Trail Blazers v. Darnell Valentine and Jim Paxson, Decision 86-2 (August 13, 1986)."
The agreement doesn't reprint that decision, and we couldn't find its text published anywhere we could open. So the sentence above is what the form says, and how far it reaches in practice turns on a ruling the public copy doesn't show.
It can be struck out
The form isn't fixed everywhere. Article II, Section 3 lists the only changes a player and team may make to it in their own negotiations, and paragraph 13(b) is on that list.
Item (o) lets them agree "to delete Paragraph 13(b) of the Uniform Player Contract in its entirety," or to delete the last sixteen words of its first sentence. So whether a given player's contract still has this line depends on what was signed.
What the team gets in the same paragraph
Paragraph 13(a) runs the other way. The player agrees to let the team, the NBA or a league-related entity take pictures and video of him at reasonable times they name.
"No matter by whom taken, such images may be used in any manner desired" for publicity or promotion of teams or the NBA. The rights in those images belong to the team, the league or that entity, "as their interests may appear."
Paragraph 13(d) adds that the player will take part, on request, in "all other reasonable promotional activities" of the team and the league. Article II, Section 8 puts a number on that.
Twelve appearances, and what they pay
The duty is met when, each salary cap year, a player makes seven individual appearances, at least two of them for season ticketholders, and five group appearances. That's twelve.
Each appearance for one of the team's commercial sponsors pays $3,500. Once a player has made eight appearances in a year, each later sponsor appearance pays $4,500. Expenses that come straight from the appearance are reimbursed.
The same section sets the terms. An appearance is scheduled at least 14 days ahead in writing and called to his attention again seven days before. It can't interfere with game preparation or practice, and signing autographs can't be its main purpose.
Missing one has a price. Article VI, Section 3 says a player who fails or refuses to attend a required promotional appearance "without proper and reasonable excuse" is fined $20,000. Paragraph 13(f) adds up to four appearances a year for the players' union.
The NFL's form says it differently
The NFL Player Contract, Appendix A of the 2020 NFL collective bargaining agreement, gives the club and the league broad rights to a player's name, likeness and voice to promote NFL football, in paragraph 4.
Then it draws a line. The grant doesn't let them use those rights "in a manner that constitutes any endorsement by Player of a third-party brand, product or service."
The NFL form's own written consent sentence, paragraph 3, is about playing football elsewhere and activities with "a significant risk of personal injury."
Two leagues, two standard forms, two different answers to the same question: who has to say yes before a player's name goes on a product.
Why it's worth reading back
A college or high school athlete's deal isn't an NBA contract. The question in this paragraph isn't only the NBA's, though. An exclusivity clause asks a version of it: whether one deal limits the next one you sign.
When another party gets a say over what you do with your name, a contract says so in a sentence like this one. That's the sentence to find.
The 2023 agreement runs through June 30, 2030, unless the league or the union opts out in 2029. Until then, this is the form.
What Leave does with this
Upload a contract and Leave reads it back in plain words, including any line that says someone else has to approve what you do with your name. The dates it sets go on Home.
Leave takes 0 percent of any deal. It doesn't negotiate or represent anyone. You decide what to sign. Every source is linked at the bottom.
Questions people ask
Does an NBA player need his team's permission for an endorsement deal?
The standard contract says he won't sponsor commercial products without the team's written consent, and that the team can withhold it only in its own or the NBA's reasonable interests. A player and team may agree to delete that paragraph from his contract.
Can an NBA team use a player's picture to promote the team?
Yes. Paragraph 13(a) lets the team, the league or a league-related entity take pictures and video of the player and use them in any manner desired for publicity or promotion of teams or the NBA. The rights in those images belong to them.
How many promotional appearances does an NBA player owe his team?
The duty is met with seven individual appearances, two of them for season ticketholders, and five group appearances each salary cap year. Each one for a team sponsor pays $3,500, and $4,500 after the eighth.
Be your own agent. Leave.