Nets set sales, exposure records as stars agreed to sign with Brooklyn

In an email exchange with Bloomberg’s Eben Novy-Williams Monday, Mikhail Prokhorov expressed optimism that the signing of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving —as well as the team’s growing success— would generate new revenues for the Nets.

“We were already in the midst of one of the best off-seasons we’ve had since the team arrived in Brooklyn” in 2012, Prokhorov said in an email. “With our recent signings, our expectation is that we will surpass our highest revenue marks in franchise history this year.”

The revenue won’t be limited to ticket sales either, reports Novy-Williams who covers the business of sports. There will likely be increases in suite purchases, merchandise and corporate sponsorships. A Nets insider told NetsDaily the number could be $30 million or higher.

In fact, on Tuesday, the Nets released a number of data points to show just how successful the signings have been financially ... and increasing the team’s online exposure... starting with the news breaking on the first day of NBA Free Agency, June 30.

As the data shows, the reaction was almost instantaneous...

Sunday, June 30 was the largest single day of ticket sales activity in franchise history.

Ticket sales staff received nearly 1,000 inbound phone calls on Sunday, June 30 alone.

We have already exceeded our ticket revenue from the entirety of last season.

On Sunday, June 30, BrooklynNets.com experienced a 675% spike in traffic.

That same day, NetsStore.com saw a 304% increase in sales vs. an average day this season.

The following day, Monday, July 1, NetsStore.com experienced its highest trafficked day ever, a record which was held for nearly one week until the traffic on Sunday, July 7 eclipsed it. It was broken again on July 9.

Saturday & Sunday July 6-7 accounted for our nine most engaged Instagram posts of all time, and our two most engaged Twitter posts of all time.

Since June 30, we have added nearly 100,000 new followers on Instagram.

And all that was without the signature KD and Kyrie gear that went on sale Sunday!

Prokhorov wasn’t specific about the finances in his emails with Bloomberg, but Forbes magazine estimates that the team made $290 million in revenue last year, up from $273 million the year before.

Of course, the numbers he’s expecting will likely come before Durant plays a single game -- The 10-time All-Star is recovering from Achilles surgery, meaning that as long as the Nets play well this season, their improved exposure and sales will likely be sustained.

Even without the signings, last season’s playoff run had helped the team drive up attendance. With the team 8-18 through the first week of December, the team was averaging a little more than 13,000 paying customers per game. At the Nets continued to win, attendance picked up. After the All-Break in fact, the team averaged 16,397 fans, and the final seven home dates— the last five regular season games and two playoff dates— were sold out.

• Nets Owner Expects Record Revenue After Durant, Irving Signings - Eben Novy-Williams - Bloomberg News
• Nets’ Durant-Irving coup already helping their bottom line - Brian Lewis - New York Post