Goodyear deal will pay Cleveland Cavaliers $10 million per year

Goodyear will pay the Cleveland Cavaliers $10 million per year for the Cavs to put the Wingfoot logo on their jersey.

Earlier today, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Goodyear announced a sponsorship agreement that would the tire company to put their Wingfoot logo on the Cavs jerseys, starting in the 2017-2018 season. In return, the Cleveland Cavaliers will get $10 million per year according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports.

Zillgitt adds that the $10 million figure would be the largest among the six teams that have currently reached sponsorship deals. Before the Cavs made the announcement this afternoon, only the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz had jersey sponsorship agreements in place.

The move doesn’t come without charity as the Cleveland Cavaliers and Goodyear have agreed to partner up on a $1 million fund for public school STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) programs throughout the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Akron.

In the bigger picture, when looking at the money that the Cavs will generate from the deal, it’s important to note that the Cavs are being paid for what they represent.

Not only are the Cavs led by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, two stars who continuously give back to Ohioans through charity and are two of the biggest box office draws for the NBA, as the Cavs renovate Quicken Loans Arena they’re putting themselves in a position to host one of the upcoming All-Star Games.

Cleveland is quickly becoming a particularly desirable city to live in. During the World Series, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert told Forbes contributor Peter Lane Taylor, that that the city seems to sparkle now that James is in town and the Cleveland Cavaliers are winning championships. There’s a little more than that happening though.

"“2016 has been a fairy dust year for Cleveland,” says Gilbert. “The trifecta between winning the NBA Championship this spring, hosting the Republican National Convention in July, and having the World Series in town now has put the national spotlight on us all year long."

Lane Taylor went on to add facts about the city’s growth on the “street level” transforming Cleveland from a cliche blue-collar town to a thriving urban scene while Gilbert noted the success of the Cleveland Clinic hospital as well as the quality of the Cleveland Museum Of Art and the Cleveland Orchestra.

As far as Akron, James has that one under control almost all by himself.

He’ll be starting a new public school in Akron for at-risk kids; he already has a scholarship fund for student attending the University of Akron; and he started the Akron-based LeBron James Family Foundation, an organization with so many testimonials it would be impossible to list them all.

He’s revitalizing the economy by his sheer presence and consistent mention of Akron, as evidenced by the Cavs deal with Goodyear, an Akron-based company. A deal which, I’ll remind you, supplies $1 million in funding to public schools in both Cleveland and Akron.

This Goodyear deal is one of the most special deals I’ve seen in terms of what the partnership meant to James and the Cavs. It’s a lucrative deal as well.

More important than anything though, is that it’s a deal that represents how far the Cavs have come since James’ return.

Related Story: Cavs announce sponsorship agreement with Goodyear

What do you think of the Cleveland Cavaliers deal with Goodyear? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.