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What will 2023 bring to the Brewers Jersey?


Ubaldo Castillo

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Jersey Sponsors  

8 members have voted

  1. 1. Would you buy a jersey with a sleeve sponsor?

    • Yes
      4
    • No
      4

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As a fan of sports in general it is always nice to take a look at the different leagues and see the trends that might potentially end up in baseball. One trend that is no longer a trend but rather a staple in most sports, is the sponsors on jerseys. If you watch soccer this is nothing new to you, jersey sponsors have been around since the 70's and have not taken a step back since. 

2017 saw the first jersey sponsor on an NBA jersey and what I once feared had become reality. Sooner than later I began reading about potential jersey sponsors on NHL teams. Unfortunately, the sponsorship deal came to Major League Baseball sooner than I thought. 

Earlier in the year the Padres announced their sleeve patch sponsor Motorola. Reportedly worth $10 million a year (SportsBusiness) this deal is the first of its kind but certainly not the last. As a fan, this raises a lot of questions and concerns regarding what this might mean for our Milwaukee Brewers. 

The sleeve patch for the Padres is where the 50th anniversary patch is for the Brewers on authentic jerseys for some of you to get an idea of what that looks like. You can also click here to see the Padres announcement. The question now is not "if" the Brewers will have a sponsor but a question of "when" will the Brewers have a jersey sponsor. $10 million a year is a figure that will vary by team but a source of revenue that any team will take on the P&L. 

After all of that exposition (and some opinion by me) the questions now for Brewers fans are the following: 

- Do you want sponsors on jerseys? 

- Who do you think will be the Brewers sponsor?

- Would you still buy a jersey if it has a sponsor on it?

Here are my two cents. I do not want sponsors on jerseys. I avoid buying soccer jerseys for the simple reason that sometimes I just don't feel like walking around with a sponsor for a betting website. Ultimately, I think all teams will end up having a jersey sponsor, so the next best thing is to wonder, who will the Brewers have as a sponsor?

There are a few companies that come to mind, a lot of them already sponsoring something within the stadium. I doubt Harley Davidson would be on both the Bucks and Brewers jerseys. This is why I think the side patch might end up being Northwestern Mutual. Color scheme matches and it is one of the largest companies in Milwaukee. 

Would I buy a jersey with a sponsor on it? Nope...this is why I went out and bought myself a jersey a few days ago. I am not saying I could not have waited a few months. 

I am excited to read what everyone has to say about this issue. 

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I'm not a fan of jersey sponsors but it's also not a deal-breaker for me, provided it's on the sleeve. What I really dislike is soccer's tendency to have the sponsor front and center on the chest, which I dislike enormously.

  • Like 1
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Revenue makers feel like slippery slopes to me. If you can add more to your bottom line as a team and as a league, why wouldn't you? And where do you stop? For example, if Motorola is willing to pay $20 million for something at the chest level does the league then accept chest level ads? This is one of those things that only time will tell for me. 

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On 7/26/2022 at 4:23 PM, Ubaldo Castillo said:

Revenue makers feel like slippery slopes to me. If you can add more to your bottom line as a team and as a league, why wouldn't you? And where do you stop? For example, if Motorola is willing to pay $20 million for something at the chest level does the league then accept chest level ads? This is one of those things that only time will tell for me. 

Indeed. I mean occasionally there are really good chest logos. Look at MN United’s Target kit. It’s pretty awesome, clean, and barely feels like a sponsorship while also obviously being a sponsorship.

Most teams and corporations aren’t that clever. It’ll be an eyesore far more often than it isn’t.

image.jpeg

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I'm from a soccer country and something that took place here in the last few years is that fans can buy their team jerseys without the sponsors. Players on the field have the sponsors on their jerseys, but fans don't have to. Here's an example from my team in Brazil. Sem-t-tulo.png

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@Ubaldo Castillo not really, but in the last ten years or so, Brazilian soccer teams began selling several spots of the jerseys for sponsorship, as opposed to having only one, in the front, as it always used to be. Sadly, nowadays Brazilian teams carry sponsors on up to six different spots, on the front and the back. It's like a freaking billboard! So they decided to remove the sponsors from the fans' jerseys.

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@Thiéres Rabelothat is awesome. I would never stop buying jerseys if that was to happen. Part of me wonders if sponsors would value their ad placement less if they were not placed on jerseys that were sold to the public. This sponsor conversation has so many different aspects that I feel like it will never end.

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I’m not a jersey buyer or wearer so it won’t make any difference to me one way or the other. 
 

But I would definitely not buy one with a sponsor logo on it. 

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7 minutes ago, Ubaldo Castillo said:

@BruisedCrew Fair point. Does it make a difference to you seeing that on the field?

Not really, but I find it kind of sad. I’m an old traditionalist who enjoys classic uniform styles and I hate seeing advertisements on those uniforms. I’m not a fan of all of the alternate uniforms which seem like a thinly veiled attempt to peddle  more merchandise. 
 

Hopefully any sponsor messages  will be subtle enough to not detract from the style; I wouldn’t want to see the Brewers (or anyone) wearing a big “Chico’s Bail Bonds” sign on their backs. 

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