SBJ Marketing: MLB looks to add Wild Card round sponsor

All those baseball purists who turned absolutely apoplectic after MLB did the inevitable by selling ads on its batting helmets -- an asset that had been available for some time, incidentally -- may soon have another reason to decry the state of commercialism in what was once routinely called our national pastime.

MLB is in the market offering a presenting sponsorship package to the last of the rounds of the postseason without such a deal -- the opening, best-of-three Wild Card. Agency sources said the media-laden package came with a $5 million asking price, but as of this morning, there were no takers yet.

The World Series presenting sponsor has been Capital One since 2022, while the ALCS and NLCS have been presented by loanDepot since 2021. Beginning last year, Booking.com has been attached to the ALDS and NLDS as presenting sponsor.

I've managed to cover the intersection of sports and commerce for three decades without covering a pump sponsorship, but those days are over.

The Bucks have signed Wilo to a sponsorship that gets the German building services and infrastructure company exclusivity in the pump category and designation as the NBA team’s initial “global sustainability partner." Wilo will also get branding on the team’s warmup jackets and shooting shirts -- the first time the Bucks have been able to sell that inventory. The deal includes team-controlled sideline signage, digital and social media and global marketing rights for Wilo.

Wilo’s systems have been installed in Fiserv Forum since well before the arena opened in 2018, but it took some time to turn that into a marketing relationship. Matt Pazaras, the Bucks' chief business development and strategy officer, said Wilo’s Global CEO visited the U.S and met at Fiserv Forum this spring. "They are looking for more awareness of their sustainability efforts -- and to use Fiserv Forum as a [sales] showcase as they expand in the U.S.," he said.

This is Wilo’s first U.S. sports sponsorship deal, following some German deals with Bundesliga club Dortmund, the German rowing team and BVB women’s handball. Wilo is HQ'd in Dortmund, but has its U.S. HQ in Cedarburg, Wisc., which is about 24 miles from the Bucks’ home.

From a macro level, the deal underscores both B2B and sustainability as viable and expanding sponsorship segments that are markedly uncrowded, especially relative to the routine consumer categories. “Properties are doing a better of educating perspective B2B clients, and we’ve got enough history now that we can show value and demonstrate how these relationships can really work," said Pazaras.

AmeriVet, the NASCAR Cup Series team formerly known as Money Team Racing, will be using ForgiveCo’s debt forgiveness platform for its sponsors during the 2025 season. The program will offer debt relief to 50 military veterans weekly next season.

Similar initiatives include the Steelers' program with Verizon , which will forgive $100,000 worth of veterans’ debt for every regular-season and playoff win. Additionally, veterans activating a new smartphone line can receive a $50 bill credit.

Eric Bechtel’s Ideaquest is ForgiveCo’s. agency of record.

• FIFA added Verizon as a sponsor for the 2026 World Cup in North America, filling the tournament’s official telecommunication services sponsor, reports SBJ's Alex Silverman. The deal puts the telecom giant in the "global sponsor" tier for the event, FIFA’s second-highest designation for corporate sponsors.

• Geico will end its premier-level sponsorship of NASCAR after this season, marking the first time the racing circuit will lose one of the top-tier sponsors from the system it started in 2020, notes SBJ's Adam Stern. Geico has been involved in the sport since at least 2009. Meanwhile, FedEx is expected to continue reducing its sponsorship presence with Joe Gibbs Racing after this season and could conclude the longtime deal altogether, sources told Stern.

• The Heat finalized a multiyear jersey patch and investing sponsorship with Robinhood, the fintech brand that now has jersey deals with a league-high three NBA teams, reports SBJ's Tom Friend. Just five days ago, Robinhood signed a similar deal with the Grizzlies (joining an existing deal with the Wizards signed in 2023). Motorola (Bucks and Bulls) and Ibotta (Nuggets and Pelicans) are the only other companies with multiple patch deals.

• Aldo is collaborating with WNBA Chicago Sky player Diamond DeShields to curate a selection of existing styles for the brand’s introduction into its extended sizing category, the first initiative by the footwear and accessories brand to connect with new audiences, notes SBJ's Na'Andre Emerson.

• LA28 added Cedars-Sinai as its official medical provider in a deal that Legends helped source, reports SBJ's Rachel Axon.