In part, the surge is a reflection of the demand to throw in with major professional sports. But teams and leagues are also becoming increasingly creative with their offerings for partners. Stadiums and arenas are placing less of an emphasis on traditional luxury suites and carving up their spaces into a broader array of premium seating experiences , each of which can carry a sponsor’s name. Meanwhile, deals are not as rigid with brand exclusivity as they once were, with major pro teams possessing 10 alcohol sponsorships on average, according to SponsorUnited. And digital advertising has changed the way organizations and networks deliver their inventory, allowing a new level of customization.
In 2024, the Dodgers added 12 Japanese-based partners and a total of million in incremental sponsorship revenue thanks to the 30-year-old superstar, according to research firm SponsorUnited. The benefits are extending to the rest of Major League Baseball as well.
In MLB’s case, SponsorUnited’s Lynch doesn’t expect growth to continue in a linear fashion. “You’re seeing a two-year plan of them selling jersey patches; you’re seeing dugout signage and on-field signage. So that’s one area that didn’t exist before,” he says. “That’s kind of a unicorn thing that you’re not going to necessarily see every year.”
“Every time he played an away game, if you look at any backstop, you see Japanese brands that are advertising with the Orioles, the Yankees or whoever he’s playing,” says Bob Lynch, CEO of SponsorUnited, which estimates that teams hosting the Dodgers generated roughly million in cumulative revenue from Japanese brands inking signage deals for those games. “So you’d see a slew of brands essentially following him around across the country that are paying dollars either directly to the teams or to Van Wagner, who’s selling the backstop signage.”
The Ohtani effect, along with the introduction of assets such as jersey patches and helmet logos, helped baseball pick up nearly 0 million in new sponsorship business in 2024 and reach .84 billion league-wide, SponsorUnited found in a report published Thursday . The total represents a 16% jump year over year and a 36% increase over the past three seasons. Among the five major North American pro sports leagues, only the NFL, at an estimated .3 billion during the 2023 season, exceeds MLB’s sponsorship figure, and no league is growing as fast.
