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Mark Tatum Rises with the NBA’s Growth
By James Moreau | 30 May, 2025
In his quarter century with the NBA Mark A. Tatum has been a key player in the growth of the league’s media rights and corporate sponsorship deals.
Vietnam-born Mark A. Tatum, 55, has been Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer of the National Basketball Association for over 11 years, directing its business operations, global partnerships, marketing, and the growth of international operations and subsidiary leagues – including the G League and WNBA.
Tatum's leadership was key to the NBA’s new 11-year media rights deal with Disney, NBCUniversal, and Amazon Prime totaling $76 billion, or $6.9 billion annually an astounding 2.5-fold annual increase over the current $2.6 billion annually ($23.4 billion over 9 years).
NBA’s China TV rights have also surged. The current 5-year deal with Tencent tripled in the last renewal to $1.5 billion from $500 million. In addition, CCTV’s annual broadcast fee adds around $70 million.
The NBA jersey sponsorship program featuring corporate logos on team uniforms was Tatum’s initiative. Since launching during the 2017-18 season, the program has increased revenues by 30% per year. During the current season the jersey patch deals have generated over $286 million.
Fans know Tatum best for hosting the NBA Draft Lottery and announcing the second-round picks, for which he personally ensures correct pronunciation of the names of international players.
His 26+ year tenure at the NBA has included key marketing partnerships roles that impacted the 6.5-fold surge in annual revenues from $2 billion in 1999-2000 to $13 billion in 2023-24.
He has also served on the General Motors board since March 2021.
Tatum spent five years in sales at Procter & Gamble and Clorox after obtaining a BS in Business Management from Cornell in 1991. He played baseball for the Big Red after leading his Brooklyn high school team to the NYC’s public school championship in 1984.
While earning a Harvard MBA in 1998 Tatum held a sports marketing internship at PepsiCo. After graduating he began his career in corporate sponsorships with MLB.
Tatum’s father was serving in the Air Force during the Vietnam War when he met his mother, who is Vietnamese-Chinese. They have been married over 55 years.
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