MLB announces the permission of jersey advertisements

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Major League Baseball announced its intentions to move forward with printing advertisements on jerseys starting next season, according to a story by ESPN

The MLB is joining a wave of modern marketing started by Major League Soccer in 2007, followed by the NBA in 2017-18 and the NHL in 2019-20 to allow advertisements to appear on jerseys. 

The San Diego Padres became the first team to sign an advertisement sponsor with Motorola for the 2023 season. 

As part of a larger "nontraditional" way of marketing the game of baseball, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred stands behind his multi-faceted plan to recreate the look of the game. 

"I think that jersey patches advertisements on jerseys are a reality of life in professional sports," commissioner Rob Manfred told the Baseball Writers' Association of America. "That's a revenue source that is significant enough that it is really impossible for the sport to ignore over the long haul. I think that's the truth."

Manfred also changed the All-Star jerseys to be the same color, instead of each player wearing his unique jersey amongst a plethora of colors on the same team. 

Since Nike took over jersey production of the MLB in 2020, they added "City Connect" jerseys that provide intricate, detailed jersey designs to reflect the deeper profile of each baseball team. For the Cubs and White Sox, that entailed "Wrigleyville" and "Southside" written across the chests of their new jerseys, respectfully. 

As for Chicago sports and their jersey sponsors, the Chicago Fire have Motorola, the Bulls have Zenni glasses and the Blackhawks have Belle Tire. 

The Cubs and Sox will round out another round of jersey advertisements for the city. 

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