The 28th MLS season is underway, so let’s take this opportunity to review all the different brands who have partnered with clubs in our annual rundown of both front-of-jersey and sleeve sponsors.
28-of-29 teams feature a front-of-jersey partner with the Chicago Fire, at time of publishing, the only team without a brand on their jersey front. When it comes to sleeves, the logo of league broadcast partner, Apple TV, will feature on the left sleeve of all teams. On the right sleeve, each team has the opportunity to offer that real estate to brands and, at season’s start, 14 teams have partners.
Let’s dive in.
MLS Team Sponsors: Front of Jersey
29 different brands will feature across the chest of 28 teams. If you’re wondering how that math works, for the second straight season, the Philadelphia Union and brand partner Bimbo Bakeries have split their home and away jersey partners. The home jersey will feature the Bimbo Bakeries logo, while the new away jerseys will feature that of Thomas’. If you’ll recall, last year’s away jerseys featured Artesano’s logo.
How many brand partners return from the 2022 season? 23 (79%) of brands return with the six new partners being UCHealth (Colorado), UT Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas), Thomas’ (Philadelphia), Providence Health (Seattle), Purina (St. Louis), and Telus (Vancouver).
See the full list of teams and their respective partner(s) below.
| Team | Jersey Partner | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta United FC | American Family Insurance | Insurance Services |
| Austin FC | YETI | Consumer Products |
| Charlotte FC | Ally | Financial Services |
| Chicago Fire FC | ||
| FC Cincinnati | Mercy Health | Health care |
| Colorado Rapids | UCHealth | Health care |
| Columbus Crew | Nationwide Children’s Hospital | Health care |
| FC Dallas | UT Southwestern Medical Center | Health care |
| D.C. United | XDC Network | Blockchain Technology |
| Houston Dynamo FC | MD Anderson Cancer Center | Health care |
| LA Galaxy | Herbalife Nutrition | Consumer Products |
| Los Angeles FC | FLEX Power Tools | Consumer Products |
| Minnesota United FC | Target | Consumer Products |
| Inter Miami CF | XBTO Group | Cryptocurrency |
| CF Montreal | BMO Financial Group | Financial Services |
| Nashville SC | Renasant Bank | Financial Services |
| New England Revolution | United Healthcare | Health care |
| New York City FC | Etihad Airways | Travel |
| New York Red Bulls | Red Bull | Consumer Products |
| Orlando City SC | Orlando Health | Health care |
| Philadelphia Union | Bimbo Bakeries / Thomas’ | Consumer Products |
| Portland Timbers | Alaska Airlines | Travel |
| Real Salt Lake | LifeVantage | Consumer Products |
| San Jose Earthquakes | Intermedia Cloud Communications | Communications |
| Seattle Sounders FC | Providence Health | Health care |
| Sporting Kansas City | Compass Minerals | Industrial |
| St. Louis City SC | Purina | Consumer Products |
| Toronto FC | BMO Financial Group | Financial Services |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | Telus | Communications |
Let’s look at the sponsor category breakdown for some insight into the types of brands partnering with MLS clubs. The front-of-jersey partners breakdown as follows:
- Health care: 29%
- Consumer products: 29%
- Financial services: 14%
- Blockchain / crypto: 7%
- Communications: 7%
- Travel: 7%
- Industrial: 4%
- Insurance services: 4%
MLS Team Sponsors: Sleeves
As mentioned, 14 teams will feature a right sleeve partner at season’s start (up one from 2022) in addition to every team featuring the Apple TV logo on the left sleeve. 12-of-14 brands return from last year with the two new additions being Ford (Los Angeles FC) and BJC Healthcare (St. Louis).
| Team | Left Sleeve | Category | Right Sleeve | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta United FC | Apple TV | Media | Piedmont Healthcare | Health care |
| Austin FC | Apple TV | Media | Netspend | Financial Services |
| Charlotte FC | Apple TV | Media | Centene Corporation | Health care |
| Chicago Fire FC | Apple TV | Media | ||
| FC Cincinnati | Apple TV | Media | Kroger | Consumer Products |
| Colorado Rapids | Apple TV | Media | ||
| Columbus Crew | Apple TV | Media | Tipico Sportsbook | Gambling |
| FC Dallas | Apple TV | Media | Advocare | Consumer Products |
| D.C. United | Apple TV | Media | ||
| Houston Dynamo FC | Apple TV | Media | ||
| LA Galaxy | Apple TV | Media | ||
| Los Angeles FC | Apple TV | Media | Ford | Automotive |
| Minnesota United FC | Apple TV | Media | ||
| Inter Miami CF | Apple TV | Media | XMANNA | Blockchain Technology |
| CF Montreal | Apple TV | Media | ||
| Nashville SC | Apple TV | Media | Hyundai | Automotive |
| New England Revolution | Apple TV | Media | ||
| New York City FC | Apple TV | Media | Dude Wipes | Consumer Products |
| New York Red Bulls | Apple TV | Media | Oanda | Foreign Exchange |
| Orlando City SC | Apple TV | Media | ||
| Philadelphia Union | Apple TV | Media | ||
| Portland Timbers | Apple TV | Media | ||
| Real Salt Lake | Apple TV | Media | ||
| San Jose Earthquakes | Apple TV | Media | ||
| Seattle Sounders FC | Apple TV | Media | Emerald Queen Casino / Puyallup Tribe | Gambling |
| Sporting Kansas City | Apple TV | Media | ||
| St. Louis City SC | Apple TV | Media | BJC Healthcare | Health care |
| Toronto FC | Apple TV | Media | General Electric | Consumer Products |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | Apple TV | Media |
Taking Apple TV out of the equation, here’s the right sleeve partner category breakdown:
- Consumer products: 29%
- Health care: 21%
- Automotive: 14%
- Financial services / foreign exchange: 14%
- Gambling: 14%
- Blockchain technology: 7%
For a point of comparison, here’s some insight into current NBA patch partners. 26-of-30 (87%) of NBA teams feature a brand patch across 13 different categories. Financial services accounts for 19% of brand partners, while Fintech and other tech companies account for another 30%, combined. Only 4% of NBA teams have a health care partner compared to 21% of MLS teams.