Sponsorship Overview

Please note: Frequently Asked Questions are below.

Sports Reference, LLC relies on a combination of direct user support and targeted advertising to pay the bills and support the work going on here. Now your support can go directly to specific pages of content. It is our way to both recognize you for your support and also allow businesses to receive something in return for the support they provide to the site.

How Do I Sponsor a Page?

Short Version

Get a membership account.
Go to the page you wish to sponsor and click on the "sponsor" link in the colored box. For multiple sponsorships, see below.
We will walk you through how to make a payment and how to set up your message.
Pending our approval of your message (usually within 24 hours), your sponsorship will then appear on the site.
If you want to sponsor multiple pages using a single payment, total the price of the pages and send a single payment.

Long Version

Sign up for a membership with Basketball-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com. It is free and quick. You are logged in automatically after creating an account, and cookies allow you to be recognized when you return to the site.
On each page that accepts sponsorships, there will either be a colored box containing sponsorship message or a colored box stating the page is available. To sponsor an available page you need to click on "sponsor" within the colored box.
We will then step you through the sponsorship process:
- how to add funds to your account, if needed;
- confirm your intent to sponsor the page; and
- enter a new message (or choose an existing message) for your sponsorship.
We accept payments in a variety of ways, but mainly through trusted third parties like PayPal or Amazon. When sending money, please sign up for an account first. We can then easily credit your account immediately for a payment.
If you created a new entry, we will read it and approve it, and then your sponsorship will appear. Please note the approval process may take a day or two if traffic is especially heavy.

If you are worried about supplying us with any information, please read our privacy policy. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns regarding this policy.

Why Are You Doing This?

The Sports Reference, LLC sponsorship system:

recognizes in a fun and interesting way those who have generously contributed to our sites,
encourages people to contribute to the production of these sites, and
allows advertising on the sites in an effective way that does not infuriate our users.

Frequently Asked Questions

What pages can I sponsor?

The following can be sponsored for one year:

All player and coach pages (for example, Tim Duncan or Red Auerbach)
Team pages from individual seasons (for example, the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls or the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers)
Franchise indices (for example, the Los Angeles Lakers or the Boston Celtics)
Individual college pages (for example, The Ohio State University)

What is an entry?

An entry is the text that appears on a page or set of pages you sponsor. You can have different entries for different pages or the same entry for everything. You can also edit entries or change which entries you use on different pages. For example, entering these values:

Link Title (up to 50 characters)	Basketball-Reference.com
Link Url (up to 255 characters, leave blank if not applicable)	http://www.basketball-reference.com
Message (up to 255 characters)	Awesome source for basketball statistics

would produce the following entry:

Can we put anything into an entry?

Yes and no. Entries don't have to point to another website. They could just be a fan sponsoring their favorite player, or the entries can point to any (non-porn, non-offensive) website within our guidelines. You can put any type of message that fits our guidelines. All entries will be screened before appearing on the site, and we reserve the right to reject any entry for any reason. We will, of course, refund your money if an appropriate entry can't be found.

Why don't my entries appear immediately?

As a matter of policy, all entries must be approved before they appear on the site. This is true of new entries or entries that you have edited. We will try to do this as often as possible, so there will be little lag between your creation of an entry and its appearance on the site. However, occassionally we may be away from our computers for a few days, so it could take some time before your sponsorship appears on the site. To account for this the sponsorship's expiration date for new sponsorships is extended for an extra seven days in all cases.

How much does it cost?

The price to sponsor a page (or set of pages) depends directly on the popularity of the page. The vast majority are $5 or $10 (the minimum prices).

Why do the prices differ?

The prices are set to match an advertising rate of roughly $2.50 per 1000 page views with a minimum charge of $5. Roughly 75% of the pages are priced at $5 or $10. From there it goes up to more than $200 per year for Michael Jordan. In our opinion, putting a message on a page like Wilt Chamberlain's should be reserved for the most generous sponsors.

Can I advertise a website or product this way?

Yes, you may, but the guidelines apply.

If my player goes berserk and kicks a photographer, can I switch in mid-year?

Generally, we will not allow switching, but you can e-mail us if a special case comes up.

Can I have this player's page every year?

Yes, you will be given the option to renew a player before anyone else gets a shot. It is, however, possible that a player could rise in cost as the site or player becomes more popular. Server expenses go up as the sites become more popular. Please read the sponsorship renewals policy.

Why do some of the player pages have no sponsorship info listed on them?

These pages have been chosen by someone, but we have not yet approved their entry. This will usually take one or two days at the most.