The NFL’s Next Ad Revenue Goldmine Could Be Jersey Patches

Should the NFL ever follow most top professional sports leagues around the world in selling jersey patch sponsorships, it could result in $673 million in new annual revenue.

Sponsorship valuation firm Turnstile Group estimated that the average jersey patch sponsorship for an NFL team would be valued at $21.1 million. The $673 million figure represents projected annual combined revenue from the hypothetical jersey ads for NFL teams and advertisers who’d benefit from brand exposure. 

The NFL is the only major U.S. sports league without uniform patch ads, and it still made a world-leading $19.5 billion in revenue last year — more than Europe’s Big 5 soccer leagues’ combined $18.3 billion annual revenue. 

According to Turnstile, NFL sponsorship revenue would increase 25% with jersey patch ads. Last season saw the NFL record $2.7 billion in sponsorship revenue led by brand spending from the alcohol and tech sectors. 

In 2010, Roger Goodell said he hoped to reach a target of $25 billion by 2027.

Brands pay Premier League soccer teams as much as $64 million per year for jersey patch ads. Some EPL teams are being forced to find new sponsors with the league set to ban main front-of-shirt ads from gambling companies. 

The NBA introduced jersey patches for teams in its 2017-18 season, with the NHL and MLB following suit in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets are paid around $20-$30 million per year from their jersey patch partners. The New York Yankees inked a $25 million per year deal with Starr Insurance in July to serve as the club’s inaugural jersey sponsor through 2031.

Turnstile estimates that brand partners would gain $458 million in brand exposure value from a league-wide NFL jersey patch program. The study also says NFL jersey patches would drive $181 million worth of intellectual property value.