Major League Baseball (MLB) is moving ahead with plans to add uniform and helmet advertising patches on uniforms next season.
Advertising on uniforms was part of the MLB’s new labor contract reached in March.
In April, The San Diego Padres, became the first team to announce a deal with Motorola for the 2023 season.
“I think that jersey patch advertisements on jerseys are a reality of life in professional sports,” Commissioner Rob Manfred told the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday. “That’s a revenue source that is significant enough that it is impossible for the sport to ignore over the long haul.”
Major League Soccer became the first of the major North American leagues to allow jersey ads in 2007. The NBA started selling sponsorship logos for the 2017/18 season, while the NHL launched helmet ads for the 2020/21 season and began jersey advertising last season.
