As the following timeline indicates, corporate naming rights are a relatively new phenomenon for professional sports. This newness is even more pronounced for amateur sports, concert venues and other public assembly buildings.

While the first official deal was completed in 1972, most believe that the concept of naming rights owes its existence to the concept of college donor programs which allow individuals or corporations to name college buildings or professor chairs in return for a donation to the institution.

The following is a brief timeline listing some of the notable milestones in naming rights history:

• 1972: Rich Products Corporation acquires the naming rights for Buffalo's new NFL stadium for $1.5 million over 25 years. The first corporate naming rights deal ever generates tremendous controversy and the first-ever lawsuit.

• 1979: Syracuse-based Carrier Corporation acquires the naming rights for Syracuse University's new domed facility for a reported one-time $2.75 million payment. The deal is the first for a domed facility and for a college venue.

• 1986: Pilot Air Freight acquires the naming rights for Buffalo's new class-AAA minor league baseball stadium for $1.02 million. The deal is the first for a minor league sports venue.

• 1986: Atlantic Richfield Corporation acquires the naming rights to the new basketball arena being constructed for the NBA Sacramento Kings for a reported $7.5 million. The deal is the first for an NBA facility.

• 1988: Great Western Bank acquires the naming rights for the Los Angeles Forum as part of a fifteen-year deal. The deal was significant both for the fact that it was the first for an NHL facility and for the fact that it was the first time that a facility was renamed for a corporate sponsor.

• 1990: Coors Brewing Company announces its bid for naming rights for a new stadium for a proposed expansion MLB club in Denver. Coors subsequently acquires an ownership interest in the Colorado Rockies and the naming rights for the new stadium which opens in 1995.

• 1990: The first naming rights agreement is struck for an entertainment venue as Hardee's acquires the right to rename the Walnut Creek Amphitheatre as Hardee's Pavilion at Walnut Creek. The agreement is also notable for the fact that Hardee's places a restaurant on-site at the venue which serves as a precursor to the trend of the naming sponsor providing services at the facility in the late 1990s.

• 1994: While the Coors agreement was the first completed in MLB, the first deal enacted was in February 1994 when Cleveland Indians owner Richard Jacobs acquired the naming rights to his team's new home as part of a reported 20-year, $10 million agreement. The Jacobs agreement is also the first known instance of a team owner buying naming rights for a sports facility.

• 1995: Up to this point, all naming rights agreements had consisted of cash payments in exchange for the benefits noted in the deal. A June 1995 agreement between the City of Buffalo and North American Health Plans granted the naming rights to the former Pilot Field for $3.3 million in cash and $600,000 in advisory services. The services aspect of the agreement was reportedly excised from the deal after concerns were raised.

• 1996: After a near-miss in the Buffalo/North American deal, the first completed deal which involved non-cash compensation was a January 1996 deal between Continental airlines and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority for the right to rename the former Brendan Byrne Arena. The NJSEA reportedly received $8 million in airline travel credits as part of the 18-year, $29 million arrangement. The deal was later renegotiated by the parties.

• 1997: Midwest Express Airlines strikes the first naming rights deal for a convention center as it pays $9.25 million over 15 years for the right to name Milwaukee's new convention center as the Midwest Express Center.

• 1997: Office supply retailer Staples Corporation paid a reported $100 million for a 20-year naming rights deal for the new home of the NBA Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers and NHL Los Angeles Kings. The deal is the first to break the $100 million barrier. It was also the first to note the creation of a charitable foundation in conjunction with a naming rights contract.

• 1998: The NHL Phoenix Coyotes became the first team to sell the naming rights for their practice facility when they struck a ten-year deal with Cellular One. The Cellular One Ice Den was later renamed when the telecommunications company was acquired by ALLTEL.

• 1998: In October 1998, the City of Indian Wells, California acquired the naming rights to a private tennis complex in that community for a reported $2.5 million. The deal was the first where a municipality paid for the right to name a sports venue.

• 1999: Home improvement retailer Lowe's acquires the naming rights to the former Charlotte Motor Speedway as part of a reported $35 million, 10-year deal.

• 1999: The NFL Cleveland Browns eschew naming rights for the overall facility and instead sell naming rights for each of the facility's four entrance gates.

• 1999: Federal Express entered into a reported 27-year, $205 million agreement to name the former Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, the home of the NFL Washington Redskins. The deal was the first to break the $200 million compensation barrier.

• 2000: In the largest deal ever, Reliant Energy paid a reported $300 million for a 32-year agreement that allows the Texas-based energy company to name the new home of the NFL Houston Texans, the former Houston Astrodome and three other facilities located adjacent to the football stadium.

• 2002: The naming rights for the new home of the Los Angeles Galaxy are sold to Home Depot making it the first MLS-only facility to sell naming rights.