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Colts plan to add an ad to practice jerseys
June 5, 2009
The Indianapolis Colts intend to cash in on a new NFL
rule allowing teams to affix a sponsor's logo to practice jerseys.
"Things evolve and you're always looking for ways
to maximize revenue without compromising the integrity of the
game," Pete Ward, the team's senior executive vice president,
said Thursday. "We've had a lot of interest, but there is
nothing in place, yet."
Ward declined to identify sponsorship candidates but
said one should be secured by the end of the month and certainly in
time for training camp, which opens Aug. 2.
Only one sponsor is allowed per team, and the patch --
no larger than 31/2 inches high by 41/2 inches wide -- must be
affixed to the upper left portion of the practice jersey. There will
be no patches on game uniforms.
Teams are not allowed to enter into sponsorship
contracts with certain businesses, including those dealing with
firearms and ammunition, gambling, distilled spirits, gentlemen's
clubs, Internet sites of other sports leagues or tobacco.
The NFL also has expanded rules allowing teams more
involvement with state-run lotteries, most notably permitting them to
affix their logos to lottery games. The Colts have had a sponsorship
relationship with the Hoosier Lottery, but Ward said he wasn't
certain whether the team will expand it.
Colts seal sponsorship-patch pact with Farm Bureau
July 14, 2009
The Indianapolis Colts have become one of the first
National Football League teams to sell a corporate sponsorship patch
on players' practice jerseys, finalizing a deal with Indiana Farm
Bureau Insurance this week.
The five-year deal will bring in a mid-six-figure
annual sum for the team, said Colts officials. NFL owners voted to
allow such patches, which can be no larger than 3-1/2 inches by 4-1/2
inches, at the league meetings in March. The NFL does not allow
sponsorship patches on game-day jerseys - at least not yet.
The New York Jets and New York Giants have signed
practice jersey sponsorship deals, while the Dallas Cowboys, Denver
Broncos, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans and
Tennessee Titans are expected to sign deals soon.
In larger markets, sports marketers said, the jersey
sponsorships could bring in a high-six-figure or low-seven-figure
sum. The money from such deals stays with the team, rather than going
into the league revenue-sharing pot.
"This is an incremental increase to our revenue,
and every bit in this economy helps," Tom Zupancic, the Colts'
senior vice president of sales and marketing, told IBJ. "We've
been working on this deal for a while, so we're really happy to get
it done. Farm Bureau continues to be a really good partner for the Colts."
In 2008, Farm Bureau signed a major sponsorship deal
with the Colts, which included putting its name on the team's 56th
Street training complex. The Farm Bureau deal now is likely worth
between $1.3 million and $2 million annually to the Colts, sports
marketers said.
Colts owner Jim Irsay last year called the Farm
Bureau-Colts pact "the perfect match."
"Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance covers the entire
state and will be a great partner for us as we continue to build our
brand throughout the region," Irsay said in 2008.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, organized in 1934, has
grown to include insurance products for auto, life, home, business
and farm. The 1,200-employee company also offers banking services.
Zupancic said it was key to get the deal done before
training camp opened Aug. 2 to maximize the benefit for the team's
corporate partner.
The only time the ads will be visible to fans will be
during open practices - most of which take place during training
camp. NFL officials think sponsors will pay for the small spots so
they show up during media shots of practice and during post-practice interviews.
The jersey sponsorship opportunity is coming at an
ideal time for the Colts, who lost Chevrolet as the southeast corner
sponsor at Lucas Oil Stadium and a handful of other smaller sponsors
following last season. In 2008, the first in Lucas Oil Stadium,
sponsorship revenue was up about 30 percent from the previous year.
Last month, Zupancic said the Colts sales staff would
have to hustle to match last year's sponsorship sales revenue, but
this month he is more optimistic they can approach that level. |
