Capital One is the new banking partner of Major League Baseball.
According to an announcement Monday, the company becomes the official bank and credit card partner of MLB. People familiar with the matter told CNBC that the deal is about $125 million over five years. The numbers weren't publicly disclosed, so the people didn't want to be named.
Capital One will be a presenting sponsor for the World Series, and the bank can use MLB and its 30 teams in advertising campaigns.
The league settled its labor dispute with the MLB Players Association weeks ago. The regular season will start on April 7 after the spring training was delayed.
With labor peace secure, MLB is going to roll out additional assets. MLB Chief Revenue Officer Noah Garden said that jersey ad patches will premiere in 2023, and that sponsorships on helmets could pop up during this season. It is estimated that uniforms are worth $11 million per MLB team. Garden said that the figure is probably correct, but that it can be even higher in some cases because of your packaging.
The Capital One deal will add to MLB's sponsorship haul. During the 2020 season, sponsorship revenue was about $1 billion, but it rose to about $1.7 billion in 2021, people familiar with the matter told CNBC. According to IEG, the league made more than $900 million in 2019. The firm said that MLB has more than 1,600 sponsorships.
Capital One's commercials featuring Samuel L. Jackson are always fun and fans seem to like them.
He said that the days of using an MLB logo on a commercial are over.
Bank of America had MLB's bank promotion rights since 2015, after becoming a league partner in 2004, according to IEG. The agreement paid MLB more than $10 million in the season of 2021, according to the firm.
The BofA pact is very different from this one. Capital One will have premium signs around the World Series. The brand logo will be on the field, third and first base bags, and on the pitcher's mound. The last time the World Series had a presenting sponsor was in 2019.
A man stands at the window of an office at a Capital One bank in New York City.The World Series is the tentpole of our relationship.
The agreement comes as MLB tries to boost its ratings after the Pandemic took a toll on the sport.
The World Series featuring the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros averaged over 11 million viewers. The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series in 2020. The series averaged 9.7 million viewers.
The six-game series were down from pre-pandemic levels.
The World Series featuring the Astros and Washington Nationals averaged 13 million viewers, with the final game attracting 23 million viewers. The five-game World Series between Boston and Los Angeles averaged 14 million viewers. The World Series win by the Astros attracted an average of 18.9 million viewers.
Capital One will use its relationship with MLB to offer benefits to its cardholders, including the All-Star Game, Home Run Derby and the Field of Dreams game. The company will sponsor events at the Little League level, college, MLB minor league games and support theJackie Robinson Foundation.
The 75th anniversary of Robinson breaking the color barrier in the league is just weeks away. Capital One will make a minimum of $250,000 available to the foundation for the season in the year 2022.
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