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- A Nielsen report in August 2019 suggested that MLB sleeve sponsors could generate US$11m in brand value per team each season
Major League Baseball (MLB) and its players union are set to agree to allow franchises to sell sponsorship patches on team jerseys during the next two seasons, according to the New York Daily News.
The new inventory would be available for teams to sell if the league and the MLB Players’ Association (MLBPA) manage to salvage the 2020 season as well as during the last year of the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in 2021.
According to the Daily News, the new branding is being permitted to help franchises with the financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) introduced a similar inventory ahead of the 2017 season to great success. That initial trial was extended indefinitely with the value of the branding growing significantly over the course of its first three years.
A continuation of the MLB sponsorship patches will be a subject for discussion during negotiations on the next CBA, but the Daily News reported that the branding will ‘likely become a permanent fixture’.
A report by analyst Nielsen in August 2019 suggested that an MLB sleeve sponsor would appear on camera almost three times as often and as long as the NBA jersey patches, generating US$11 million in brand value per team each season.
The data was collected during MLB’s international fixtures in London and Japan, during which the competing teams were permitted to have jersey patch sponsors.
MLB is not the only US sports property seeking to generate extra revenue from sponsorships to combat the financial impact of Covid-19. According to the Sports Business Journal, the NBA is weighing up offering virtual signage to teams in order to help them fulfil partnership obligations when the league resumes in Orlando next month.
Elsewhere, the National Football League (NFL) is now allowing teams to sign in-market licensing deals with local designers, brands and artists. The Los Angeles Rams were the first team to take advantage of the change in regulations, signing a deal with BornxRaised.
MLB franchises will be allowed to sell sponsorship patches on team jerseys during the next two seasons
Major League Baseball (MLB) and its players union are set to agree to allow franchises to sell sponsorship patches on team jerseys during the next two seasons, according to the New York Daily News.
The new inventory would be available for teams to sell if the league and the MLB Players’ Association (MLBPA) manage to salvage the 2020 season as well as during the last year of the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in 2021.
According to the Daily News, the new branding is being permitted to help franchises with the financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) introduced a similar inventory ahead of the 2017 season to great success. That initial trial was extended indefinitely with the value of the branding growing significantly over the course of its first three years.
A continuation of the MLB sponsorship patches will be a subject for discussion during negotiations on the next CBA, but the Daily News reported that the branding will ‘likely become a permanent fixture’.
A report by analyst Nielsen in August 2019 suggested that an MLB sleeve sponsor would appear on camera almost three times as often and as long as the NBA jersey patches, generating US$11 million in brand value per team each season.
The data was collected during MLB’s international fixtures in London and Japan, during which the competing teams were permitted to have jersey patch sponsors.
MLB is not the only US sports property seeking to generate extra revenue from sponsorships to combat the financial impact of Covid-19. According to the Sports Business Journal, the NBA is weighing up offering virtual signage to teams in order to help them fulfil partnership obligations when the league resumes in Orlando next month.
Elsewhere, the National Football League (NFL) is now allowing teams to sign in-market licensing deals with local designers, brands and artists. The Los Angeles Rams were the first team to take advantage of the change in regulations, signing a deal with BornxRaised.
