POV in the Press: Phillies Still Searching for a Jersey Patch Sponsor that's the Right Fit

In a March 1, 2024 Philadelphia Business Journal article by Senior Reporter John George, POV Sports Marketing CEO Molly Arbogast lends her insight to the discussion of the Phillies’ ongoing search for the right jersey patch sponsor since the asset became available two years ago.

Phillies Still Searching for a Jersey Patch Sponsor that’s the Right Fit

It's been two years since Major League Baseball agreed to let teams sell advertising on their uniforms, and the Philadelphia Phillies are still searching for a jersey patch sponsor.

A Phillies official said last year that a potential uniform sponsorship would likely be their second most lucrative partnership after the $95 million ballpark naming rights and advertising deal with Citizens Bank, but the team has remained tight-lipped on the progress of discussions.

When asked recently about talks with potential jersey partners, a Phillies spokeswoman "politely declined" an interview request on the topic, saying the team has no update.

The Phillies have been working for the past six months with Excel Sports Management to help the team identify and negotiate a deal with a uniform sponsor. The team initially worked with another agency, Two Circles, on the initiative.

Molly Arbogast, founder and CEO of POV Sports Marketing, said she is not surprised the Phillies are taking their time with the process.

”I think they are being very methodical and looking for the right partner that aligns with their mission,” she said. “It a wonderful asset and I am bullish on a patch sponsor deal for the Phillies.”

Arbogast said she does not believe the team will end up with a well-established brand as a partner because those companies likely don’t need to make such an expensive investment. “For a growing brand it’s a wonderful opportunity,” she said.

She noted that the deals struck by other MLB teams, which have carried annual price tags ranging from $4 million to $25 million, are typically far more extensive than a company simply getting its name “on piece of fabric.” Most have multiple components that include content creation sponsorship, community initiatives and game day activations.

Arbogast said teams in any sport that allows jersey advertising should look to align with well-capitalized companies that aren’t going to go away in a few years and leave the team back at square one.

”If I was [Phillies Executive Vice President] Dave Buck I’d be extremely conservative and make sure they go with a brand that is going to be around, and a brand the players would be proud to wear on their shoulders,” she said.

More than half of the 30 MLB teams now have jersey patch sponsors. The teams and their sponsors are:

  • San Diego Padres: Motorola

  • Boston Red Sox: MassMutual

  • Arizona Diamondbacks: Avnet

  • Los Angeles Angels: FBM

  • Cincinnati Reds: Kroger

  • Houston Astros: Oxy Energy

  • Miami Marlins: ADT

  • New York Mets: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital

  • New York Yankees: Starr Insurance

  • Arizona Diamondbacks: Avmet

  • Atlanta Braves: Quikrete

  • Cleveland Guardians: Marathon Petroleum

  • Detroit Tiger: Meijer

  • Los Angeles Angels: Foundation Building Materials

  • St. Louis Cardinals: Stifel

  • San Francisco Giants: Cruise

  • Kansas City Royals: QuikTrip

The values of most deals have fallen in the $5 million to $15 million range, according to industry reports.

Relo Metric, a California-based sponsorship analytics intelligence platform operator, said MLB jersey patches have taken a big lead among the four major U.S. sports leagues that allow uniform sponsors for two primary reasons: the extended duration of baseball games, and the strategic positioning and size of the patches that make them visible from distant camera angles.

Unlike the NBA and NHL jersey patches, which are often only visible on zoomed-in camera angles during stoppages of play, Relo Metric said the MLB patches — which can be 4 inches by 4 inches in size and placed on either the right or left sleeve of the on-field uniform — consistently garner recognition throughout the game, whether it's during at-bats, during cutaways between plays, or on player profiles.

While MLS offers sponsors the largest patch size, the firm noted that the exposure for companies is diminished due to fewer stoppages of play in soccer.

The New York Yankees' deal with Starr Insurance, which expires after the 2031 season, is believed to be the most expensive — reportedly carried a $25 million per year price tag that includes a variety of branding opportunities beyond the patch.

The sponsorship deals have not escaped controversy. The Mets had to go to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital to get its jersey patch colors changed to the team's colors of blue and orange after fans criticized the original red patch because that color is associated with the rival Phillies.

In an interview before the start of the 2023 season, Jackie Cuddeback, the Phillies' senior vice president for partnership sales and corporate marketing, told the Business Journal what makes the jersey sponsorship opportunity unique is that, unlike stadium signage, the uniforms travel with the team, so the branding is present whether the Phillies are playing at home or on the road.

Cuddeback said team — which was fresh off its 2022 World Series appearance at the time — was hopeful it would sign a jersey patch sponsorship deal before Opening Day 2023.

"If we find the right partner in that time frame, we will do the deal," Cuddeback said last year. "I think for us, it's about really finding the right partner. We're interested in finding the right person as opposed to the first person."

Read the full story on bizjournals.com/philadelphia. Subscription required.

Molly Arbogast