MLB made a triumphant return to the UK last weekend, as the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals faced off in a two-game “London Series”  at London Stadium. The much-ballyhooed event–which attracted nearly 110,000 fans between the two match-ups, the largest attendance for MLB baseball games this season–also offered sponsors a prime opportunity to showcase their league partnerships for a global audience.

With MLB having recently announced that the Mets will battle the Phillies in the 2024 MLB London games, will the news pique brands’ interest in a jersey patch sponsorship with Philadelphia’s finest? As brands continue to grow their sponsorship portfolios and globalize their business strategies, will the high-profile series influence those looking to secure a new jersey patch deal among MLB’s 18 open jersey opportunities? Only time will tell.

Notably, Stifel–the St. Louis-based financial services company that announced a seven-year deal as the Cardinals’ first jersey patch sponsor in May–seized the opportunity to also sponsor the London Series. Signage on the first-base line and outfield wall trumpeted Stifel’s presence, while exclusive ticket and suite access for the brand enhanced the partnership.

One thing is for certain: globalization has become a burgeoning key focus of US pro sports. Just a few weeks before MLB’s latest trip across the proverbial pond, we attended an event at “NBA House,” an NBA-hosted immersive basketball experience held June 1st and the 18th in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and timed to the NBA Finals. League sponsors including Budweiser, Ruffles, and Gatorade were on-hand to showcase their brands for the Brazilian audience, alongside prominent local brands like food giant Sadia–which announced its third consecutive year as an NBA sponsor in Brazil on May 23–and nutritional beverage brand Sustagen.

The NFL is also charging full speed ahead onto the world stage, with the long term goal of growing its global fan base by 26% to 240M. To that end, the league launched its international home marketing areas (IHMA) initiative in early 2022, granting teams access to foreign territories for marketing and fan engagement. Ten clubs used the 2022 NFL Draft to highlight their overseas marketing efforts by announcing draft picks from iconic locations within their IHMAs, while the league will play a record five games this season in Germany and the UK.

The league’s international growth offers both US and foreign sponsors huge opportunities to build new audiences–generating additional revenue streams for teams through ticket and merch sales, along with broadcasting rights. Nineteen teams already have access to 30 IHMAs across 10 countries (and counting), begging the question: will the NFL become the first transatlantic pro sports league?

Meanwhile, having just announced its 2023-24 schedule, the NHL is also eyeing distant shores with its four-game Global Series in Stockholm, Sweden, from November 16-19, 2023. As in the NHL match-ups in Finland and the Czech Republic last year, we expect to see both US and local brands utilizing DED signage as well as dasher boards, as both stateside and foreign sponsors seize the opportunity to engage new audiences.

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