The San Diego Padres will start wearing a Motorola logo on their sleeves, beginning with the 2023 Major League Baseball regular season. While corporate partnerships are nothing new in baseball, it’s the first time we’re seeing an MLB team with a sponsored patch. The league earlier this month said MLB teams could feature the logos of corporate sponsors on their uniforms, similar to what both the NBA and NHL are doing.
Beginning in 2023, the Motorola “batwing” logo will be featured on the right sleeve across versions of the Padres’ jerseys. Motorola will also outfit the Padres’ Hall of Fame with interactive technology displays and product integration throughout the exhibit.
“We are thrilled to partner with a quintessential and innovative brand like Motorola to bring cutting-edge technology, design, and performance to Petco Park,” Padres CEO Erik Greupner said in a press release. “Motorola’s iconic logo on our jersey is a perfect alignment with our Padres brand, and we look forward to teaming up to provide a great experience for our fans.”
The NBA’s jersey patch program has ended in some particularly lucrative deals — the combined value for the 2021-22 season was projected to be $225 million. The brands involved tend to be more unconventional than your run-of-the-mill beverage and sneaker company sponsors. A number of tech companies have sponsored jersey patches, including rebate app Ibotta, Squarespace, Vistaprint and online trading company WeBull. The Philadeliphia 76ers recently entered into a $10-million-a-year jersey patch partnership with Hong Kong-based Crypto.com arena.
Motorola is also the jersey patch sponsor of three separate NBA teams; the Milwaukee Bucks, the Indiana Pacers and the Brooklyn Nets. Perhaps the biggest score for Motorola is that is now the official smartphone sponsor for all these teams. These deals could raise the Android phone maker’s profile and generate more buzz around this year’s new Edge+ and Moto G Stylus.