Informed sources say the NBA has a new lead quick service restaurant sponsor -- Taco Bell, replacing Oak Brook-based McDonald's, which had been an NBA sponsor for some 20 years. Taco Bell is a unit of the world's largest restaurant company, Louisville-based Yum! Brands. An official announcement of the newly-inked sponsorship deal is expected within the next couple of days.
Sources say the NBA's switch in principal quick service restaurant sponsors evolved from a developing relationship with Yum! that began in 2006. The NBA has been working internationally with another Yum! unit, KFC. The new sponsorship affiliation with the NBA will yield Taco Bell a number of high-profile opportunities to tout the Mexican fast food chain to a large basketball audience.
