The San Francisco 49ers have received a much-needed financial boost, with Visa upping its sponsorship of the NFL franchise to include branding of the practice jerseys.

The NFL, like the National Basketball Association, is now allowing teams to sell sponsorship of their practice jerseys to raise additional revenues.

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"The San Francisco 49ers and Visa have a longstanding partnership that has scored big for both organisations," said Andy Dolich, chief operating officer of the 49ers. "Everyone knows that winning begins on the practice field. Having Visa partner with us on the jersey is a strong message of teamwork.”

The patches will appear on the left shoulder of the team's jerseys, and will be white with the Visa logo in the middle.