ST. LOUIS — Among the many changes in Major League Baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement is a new sponsorship opportunity that is expected to drive millions in annual revenue for local teams.
The deal, inked last month, allows each MLB team to sell sponsors the ability to put their logo on a 4-by-4-inch patch that would appear on the sleeve of on-field player jerseys, beginning with the 2023 season. In an interview this week, St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt said the organization is already thinking about what type of deal it wants to pursue for its jersey patch.
“We definitely want to be out there understanding what sort of partnerships are available,” DeWitt said.
With the addition of its jersey sponsorship, MLB becomes the latest sport to add sponsorship to player-worn equipment. Professional soccer teams worldwide have placed ads on their jerseys since the 1970s, but most of North America's biggest team-based leagues had avoided using their uniforms as an advertising platform until the last few years. Outside of manufacturers marks, the NBA had been sponsor-less until the 2017-2018 season, when teams were allowed to sell small jersey patches. National Hockey League teams, including the St. Louis Blues, added sponsor decals to their helmets in the 2020-21 season. MLB also plans to add a helmet sponsorship, but that deal will be handled by the league rather than individual teams, according to Sports Business Journal.
With jersey patches not being added until the 2023 season, DeWitt said closing a deal for that sponsorship isn’t urgent. However, he said the team wants to start exploring its options. He said he's already given some thought to the type and length of partnership the Cardinals would like to ink with a corporation.
