Cavaliers to sport Goodyear wingfoot logo on jerseys

— -- There will be a new logo on the? Cleveland Cavaliers' jerseys when they take the court next season: the Goodyear wingfoot.

The tire company, founded and headquartered in Akron, Ohio, signed a multiyear deal to be on the team's jerseys, sources told ESPN. All-Star forward? LeBron James was born and currently lives in Akron.

Terms of Goodyear's deal with the Cavs was not disclosed.?The deal will be announced later Monday.

As one of the top high-profile teams in the league, Goodyear will be getting plenty of exposure.

The logo's presence in clear view on television while the Cavaliers play will be worth $7-10 million a year, estimates Eric Smallwood of Apex Marketing Group, a sponsorship evaluation firm. Adding video games, trading cards and social media, the advertising value could approach $30 million annually, Smallwood said.

It was exactly 13 months ago that the NBA approved of teams signing a company to put its 2? by 2? inch logo on jerseys in the upper-left-hand corner, beginning with the 2017-18 season. While the space was said to be extremely valuable, being the first North American major sports league to sell a space for a logo on a game uniform hasn't proved to be that easy.

Less than a quarter of the league has signed deals so far. They include the Philadelphia 76ers (StubHub), Sacramento Kings (Blue Diamond), Boston Celtics (GE), Brooklyn Nets (Infor) and Utah Jazz (Qualtrics).

Goodyear is not the official tire of the NBA (that designation belongs to Kumho), but that category was not protected in this case. Protected sponsors include broadcast partners (ESPN, ABC & Turner), Spalding (the official ball) and Tissot (the official timekeeper).

The move coincides with Nike taking over as the official apparel provider of uniforms. None of the Cavaliers players, at least at this time, have a deal with the tire company.

Goodyear's most high-profile sponsorships include the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, the College Football Playoff and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It is most famous for its blimp, which flies over sporting events.

Goodyear actually played a key role in professional basketball in this country. In 1937, 13 companies paid players in a league called the National Basketball League. The Akron Goodyear Wingfoots won the first title that season. In 1949, NBL teams became part of the new NBA as part of a merger.

The Wingfoot jerseys had the Goodyear name and logo on them.