Major League Baseball (MLB) players’ uniform sleeves will sport corporate-sponsored patches beginning next season for the first time in the game’s 146-year professional history. The league confirmed that decals on batting helmets could come as early as this postseason.
In-game uniform ads were included in the latest collective bargaining agreement between the league and the MLB Player’s Association signed early last month. On Friday, the league released the plan’s details, including timing, patch sizes and what type of advertising is not allowed to be worn by the players.
Teams can only have one consistent partner per season, and the patch must be the same design across all of the team’s uniforms, including home and away uniforms. The ad patches can only be worn on jersey sleeves, not on the chest, are limited to one patch per jersey and must be sized 4-inches by 4-inches.
All patch designs will be reviewed for approval by both the league and the player’s union. Patches advertising alcohol, gambling or media brands are prohibited.
During the 2022 post-season, the league can begin to sell advertising to be worn as decals on batting helmets.
Consumers will have the ability to purchase patches on jerseys. Team stores will sell authentic jerseys with sponsor patches at the ballpark. Replica jerseys sold by retailers will come without patches.
In 2019, as part of the London series between the Yankees and Red Sox, the league experimented with the advertising concept with Mitel as its helmet sponsor. NBA started adding sponsorship jersey patches several years ago.
Starting with the 2020 MLB season, Nike and Fanatics began serving as the league’s official uniform and footwear suppliers of the MLB. The agreement put Nike-made products on players for all MLB games and Fanatics-made products on fans.
Nike replaced Under Armour, which backed out of the deal. Before 2000, Majestic had been the provider of on-field uniforms for 15 years.
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