MLS Allowing Clubs To Sell Left Sleeve Sponsorships To Recoup Revenue

In an effort to address what has amounted to $1B in net losses last year, MLS is providing its clubs a make-good sponsorship opportunity heading into the '21 season by letting them place a brand on the left sleeve of players’ jerseys, sources have confirmed. Clubs were originally informed of the news in late December and were formally notified during a leaguewide sponsorship call on Wednesday. It is unclear if teams will have a chance to sell the left sleeve beyond the upcoming season, which is scheduled to start in March.

The new piece of inventory is designed primarily as a revenue retention opportunity for teams and current sponsors, sources said, due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. A source said that MLS and its 26 clubs lost $725M in revenue last year, which could all be attributed to COVID-19. With operating expenses factored in, that figure stretches to $1B, the source said. MLS declined comment. 

Clubs originally could sell the right jersey sleeve as part of a four-year pilot program that was announced in October '18 and started in '20. Now, that program has been extended two years through '25, according to a source. Selling the right sleeve has been a commercial opportunity available to teams that already have a primary kit sponsor. Beginning with the MLS is Back tournament last year, the league allowed teams to place a sponsor on the left sleeve to recoup sponsorship revenue.

In select instances, teams could place a sponsored patch on the back left of players’ shorts during the tournament, a selling point that did not extend to matches resuming in local markets in '20. After that bubble tournament in Florida, the MLS crest was removed from the left sleeve for clubs to continue to leverage as a make-good.

Some sources likened the left sleeve in MLS to a new make-good asset available in the NHL for the '20-21 season. NHL teams now have the ability to place a sponsored decal on players’ helmets for home and away contests as well as practices, an opportunity also designed primarily for naming-rights sponsors and founding-level companies. The NHL approved the one-year opportunity for up to two sponsors, but only one brand can be placed on a helmet at one time.

Some of the MLS teams that will have a sponsor on the right jersey sleeve for the '21 season include Atlanta United (Piedmont Healthcare), Austin FC (Netspend), DC United (FanDuel), FC Dallas (AdvoCare), LAFC (Target), Sporting KC (Compass Minerals) and Toronto FC (GE Appliances).