Tag: jersey patch

Report: Rockets to have new jersey patch sponsor in 2024-25

After three seasons with Intuit Credit Karma, the Rockets will have a new jersey patch sponsor in the 2024-25 season, the Houston Business Journal reports.

After three seasons with Intuit Credit Karma, the Rockets will have a new jersey patch sponsor when the 2024-25 NBA season begins this fall, the Houston Business Journal reports.

According to Gretchen Sheirr, president of business operations for the Rockets, jersey patch sponsorships trail only venue naming rights when it comes to partnership revenue sources for teams.

Starting with the 2017-18 season, the NBA was the first U.S. professional sports league to introduce jersey sponsorships. In 2018-19, Houston signed its first jersey patch deal with ROKiT Phones, and the franchise subsequently transitioned to Credit Karma in 2021.

According to the Houston Business Journal, an Intuit Credit Karma spokesperson said the sponsorship had been successful and mutually beneficial over the past three seasons.

The report indicated owner Tilman Fertitta, general manager Rafael Stone and head coach Ime Udoka recently held an event at the Post Oak Hotel to discuss the jersey sponsorship opportunity with local and national brands. As of now, Houston is not in negotiations with a specific company.

According to a report from The Athletic in late 2020, NBA jersey-patch deals ranged in average annual value from $7 million to $10 million. However, some are significantly larger, depending on the value of the franchise involved. For example, Golden State’s deal with Rakuten is believed to be worth $20 million annually.

Major League Baseball’s Astros signed a jersey-patch deal in 2023 with Houston-based oil and gas company Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OxyChem). The value of that isn’t yet known, though it’s worth noting the Astros were reigning World Series champions at the time, which likely gave them significant leverage in talks.

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Bears unveil jersey patch honoring Dick Butkus

The Bears will wear the No. 51 patch honoring Dick Butkus for the rest of the 2023 season.

The Chicago Bears are doing their part to honor legendary linebacker Dick Butkus for the remainder of the 2023 season. The team announced on Friday they will wear a special patch on their jerseys beginning this weekend to honor Butkus, who passed away at the age of 80 on October 5th. The patch consists of Butkus’ No. 51 inside a football.

Bears chairman George McCaskey told team senior writer Larry Mayer that he wants the team to think about Butkus and his legacy every time they put on the uniform. “The purpose of the patch is, every time they pull on the pads, they’ll take a moment to think about Dick and his approach to the game,” McCaskey said.

Butkus was drafted in the first round of the 1965 NFL Draft, played eight seasons with the Bears, and is regarded as one of the greatest linebackers of all time. Butkus made the Pro Bowl in every season, earned five First-Team All-Pro selections, was named to the 1960 and 1970 All-Decade Teams, and was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979 during his first year of eligibility.

Since 1994, no player has worn the No. 51 on their jersey once it was retired, but now every player will play with that number, beginning Sunday when the Bears welcome the Minnesota Vikings to town. Fans were also happy to see the team acknowledge Butkus and think the patch is fitting for what he did both on and off the field.

Cowboys nominate Jaylon Smith for Walter Payton Man of the Year honor

The linebacker will wear a special helmet decal marking the honor, recognizing his work empowering minority entrepreneurship initiatives.

Cowboys fans have had a love/hate relationship with linebacker Jaylon Smith in 2020, often making him the target of their frustrations with a defense that seems to often lack hustle and the poster boy for an organization that seems to overpay some players before they’ve proven their long-term worth.

Those criticisms deserve to be set aside for a day at least. Smith was honored by the league Thursday for his community service activities off the field when he was named the Cowboys’ nominee for the 2020 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award.

Always one of the team’s most active participants in local community outreach efforts, Smith has personally spearheaded initiatives to encourage minority entrepreneurship. He founded the Minority Entrepreneurship Institute to help open doors for others to start businesses and succeed financially.

From the Cowboys official website:

“Smith has pledged $2.5 million over 10 years to spur MEI investments and is adding co-investors across the country who share in his beliefs. His hope is that minority entrepreneurs will be the game-changers who can make a changing economy come to life.”

“Jaylon exemplifies every quality that this award celebrates,” Cowboys executive vice president and chief brand officer Charlotte Jones Anderson said in a statement. “He has a light that he wants to share and shine on others that is rare. We are excited to see what more he can accomplish through his work with minority entrepreneurs and the many other endeavors that he supports.”

Ezekiel Elliott, Tony Pollard, and Rico Dowdle were among the first Cowboys players who took to social media to congratulate their teammate.

A player from each team in the league was nominated; notables include Cleveland’s Myles Garrett, Kansas City’s Travis Kelce, Seattle’s Russell Wilson, and Miami’s Byron Jones, the former Cowboys cornerback.

The nominations were announced on Good Morning Football.

Smith and the 31 other nominees will wear a special helmet decal for the rest of the season signifying the honor. All will see their work celebrated during the week leading up to Super Bowl LV and have a $40,000 donation made to the charity of their choosing. The award’s winner will be revealed during the NFL Honors event, with a $250,000 donation made. That winner will also wear a jersey patch for the remainder of his playing career.

Several Cowboys have won the NFL Man of the Year award: Roger Staubach in 1978, Troy Aikman in 1997, and Jason Witten in 2012. The award was re-named for Payton shortly after his death in 1999; the Bears running back had won it himself in 1977.

Nationwide, the award’s corporate sponsor, is encouraging fans to vote for their favorite nominee on Twitter by using the hashtag #WPMOYChallenge followed by the player’s last name. The player tagged most between December 10 and January 17 will receive a $25,000 contribution to their charity of choice; second- and third-place finishers will receive $10,000 and $5,000 donations, respectively.

Congratulations- and a celebratory swipe- to Jaylon Smith on being nominated for the NFL’s most prestigious accolade.

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