Sponsorship Steps Up to Bat: Baseball’s Next Big Business Play

By: Louisa Lynn

November 2, 2025

Photo Credit: Associated Press

Over the past few years, Major League Baseball and other professional sports leagues have undergone a quiet but revolutionary shift in how they approach sponsorship. What was once limited to stadium signage and brief broadcast ads has expanded into dynamic and deeply integrated brand partnerships. Sponsorship today is no longer about simply being seen; it’s about using visuals to become a part of the game’s story.

Baseball provides one of the clearest examples of this evolution. For decades, the sport resisted on-field advertising to preserve its traditional aesthetic. But beginning in 2023, MLB opened up new inventory far beyond classic signage, allowing jersey sleeve patches, helmet decals, and even virtual signage within broadcasts. As reported by Reuters (2024), postseason games first featured helmet sponsorships during the 2024 playoffs, signaling a cultural shift in how the league views brand visibility.

This move followed the success of other major leagues. The NBA’s jersey-patch program, which generated $1.62B in sponsorship revenue this season, and the NHL’s helmet ads, which generated $1.28B are examples of successful new revenue opportunities. For MLB, this has translated into meaningful incremental income for both the league and individual clubs.

For example, many teams signed uniform patch deals worth $7 million to $8 million per year on average, while the marquee deals (such as the New York Yankees’ patch deal with Starr Insurance) reportedly approach $25 million annually. By 2025, MLB teams and the league collectively hosted more than 40 corporate partners (Sports Business Journal, 2025), (e.g., the league’s reported “48 active sponsors generating US $804.9 million annually” across home-market rights and sponsorships).

A few of the most notable partners include MassMutual (in the Boston Red Sox jersey-patch deal worth about US $170 million over 10 years), the Yankees’ Starr Insurance deal (rumoured ~$25 million per year), and the league-wide partnership with Nike, Inc. and other major sponsors. As is standard with many sponsorships these days, these sponsorships extend beyond visibility alone; they are now bundled with social campaigns, ticket bundles, player content, and interactive fan experiences, turning a simple logo placement into a more meaningful narrative.

The growth of digital media has transformed sponsorship strategy in new ways. Fans are now consuming highlights and live clips via TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and brand partners see huge value in moments that can be replayed, reposted, and even memed. The logo on a player’s helmet or jersey during a viral highlight can provide brands with millions of impressions far beyond the views and confines of a live window. This is evident in MLB’s partnership with Jomboy Media (Sportico, 2025), which illustrates the league’s understanding that engagement is not simply exposure but drives value in sponsorship today. In June 2025, MLB acquired a minority stake in Jomboy Media, giving the media company access to league and team IP, while MLB and its clubs gained a digital creative partner with more than 93 million engagements in the prior year. Jomboy Media is a creator-led sports media empire that creates authentic content across podcasts, social media, and digital video, often going viral.

Just as partnerships like Jomboy Media redefine engagement off the field, MLB’s approach to uniform and equipment branding reflects a parallel evolution in how sponsorship lives within the game itself. The “Zoom” helmet logo first appeared during the 2024 London Series as part of a short-term sponsorship deal that has since been replaced. Beginning in the 2024 postseason, the helmet logo space transitioned to the German workwear company STRAUSS, marking the first time a single brand appeared on batting helmets league-wide during MLB’s playoffs (CBS, 2024). The multi-year agreement, which runs through 2027, includes postseason games, international series such as those in London and Mexico, and all Minor League Baseball helmets starting in 2025 (SportsNet, 2025). This new logo deal is even featured in MLB The Show, the MLB’s officially licensed video game franchise that sells millions of copies annually and has a very large age demographic, creating year-round recognition for sponsors.

In real life, the decal itself measures approximately 5 inches wide by 0.9 inches tall and is placed on both sides of each helmet (SportsNet, 2025). During the 2024 Wild Card round alone, the STRAUSS logo was estimated to have been on-screen for nearly 45 minutes, generating an equivalent media value of roughly $800,000 just from televised exposure (Jug Sports, 2025). This makes the helmet one of the most high-density exposure assets in all of baseball sponsorship, appearing during every pitch, every at-bat, and every replay. The STRAUSS partnership demonstrates how postseason visibility and smart asset placement can turn a small piece of equipment into a powerful storytelling and branding tool.

Despite these advancements, the transition has been controversial. Many fans admire the classic appearance of baseball and worry that introducing uniform advertisements could compromise its authenticity. Critics often point to the Seattle Mariners’ bright red Nintendo Switch patch, as its bold color and placement on the shoulder stand out sharply against the team’s traditional navy-and-teal uniforms. Clearly, an example of branding that disrupts baseball’s timeless aesthetic. Most teams, however, have taken a more subtle approach, integrating sponsor logos that complement team colors and maintain the sport’s visual heritage. MLB’s gradual rollout reflects this balance between innovation and tradition.

The league has kept logos modest in size and tone to preserve a consistent on-field identity while adapting to modern commercial realities. This deliberate pace underscores an important lesson: sponsorship innovation must respect the culture of the game and align with team and even organization values. Today, sponsorship is the most creative, measurable, and global industry it has ever been. Brands seek cultural relevance as much as visibility, and leagues pursue engagement as much as revenue.

As MLB and its associates investigate possibilities ranging from helmet decals to digital enhancements, the future of sports sponsorships will come down to a pivotal question: how can brands find a place in the story while enhancing and honoring the history and energy of the sport?