NEW YORK – New Era and the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced today an expanded global licensing partnership that makes the brand the official authentic headwear provider of the NBA, Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and NBA Development League (NBA D-League).

As the league’s official authentic headwear provider, New Era will exclusively produce caps for marquee NBA events, including the NBA Draft presented by State Farm^®, Conference Finals and NBA Finals, with key products like the NBA Draft Cap and Official Locker Room Championship Cap.  The multiyear deal comes as the NBA celebrates its 20-year relationship with New Era, and will include marketing and retail activations within league and team platforms.

“We’ve been a partner of the NBA for many years and are excited for the opportunity to continue to work with such a storied league and its outstanding teams,” said Chris Koch, President & CEO, New Era.  “We’re looking forward to using team and league logos to bring unique designs and styles to the market for both players and fans.”

As part of the expanded partnership, New Era launched the 59FIFTY fitted headwear collection for the start of the 2016-17 season, and will unveil lifestyle-inspired products during NBA All-Star 2017 in New Orleans.  Additionally, New Era will produce all headwear silhouettes with current team marks, including the 9FIFTY Snapback, internationally.

“We’re very excited to grow our relationship with New Era and explore new ways to share premium product with our fans,” said NBA Vice President, Global Partnerships Lisa Piken Koper.  “The NBA Draft and Finals will reflect our refreshed approach to the category.”

Merchandise will be available at www.NBAStore.com, www.neweracap.com, the Flagship NBA Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, all NBA team venues, and at New Era flagship stores and retailers around the world.

ABOUT NEW ERA
Since 1920, New Era has been hand-crafting the finest headwear in the world. Today, with apparel and accessories lines, the brand is a market leader rooted in sports and an influencer of street and lifestyle culture around the globe. With over 500 licenses in its portfolio, New Era is the brand of choice in the worlds of sport, fashion, music and entertainment.  The Company is headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y., and its products are sold in more than 80 countries. For more information on New Era’s global offices and partnerships, visit www.neweracap.com and social channels @neweracap.

ABOUT NBA
The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League.  The league has established a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 49 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2015-16 season featured 100 international players from 37 countries and territories.  NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com and the NBA App, which achieved record viewership and traffic during the 2015-16 season.  The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with more than one billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms.  Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.