Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-1-2013
Journal / Book Title
Soccer & Society
Abstract
This paper seeks to compare shirt sponsorship in professional football (soccer) in the United States with global trends. We try to answer why America has been slow to accept shirt sponsorship. In 2007, Major League Soccer (MLS) became the first professional team sports league in the USA to embrace shirt sponsorships, breaking a long-standing taboo that banned this practice. To date, 14 of the 19 MLS clubs wear a sponsored jersey. Only a few fledging professional sports leagues in the USA allow shirt sponsorships (e.g. the Women's National Basketball Association, the United Football League, and the Women's Professional Soccer League). No prestigious professional sports leagues in America allow shirt sponsorships (e.g. Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League). This opposition to shirt sponsorship in professional sports places America in stark contrast to the rest of the world.
DOI
10.1080/14660970.2012.753532
MSU Digital Commons Citation
Jensen, Ric W.; Bowman, Nicolas D.; Larson, Brian V.; and Wang, Yawei, "Looking at Shirt Sponsorships from Both Sides of the Pond: Comparing Global Trends Versus America's Major League Soccer" (2013). Department of Hospitality and Tourism Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works. 7.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/hospitality-tourism-facpubs/7
Published Citation
Jensen, R. W., Bowman, N. D., Larson, B. V., & Wang, Y. (2013). Looking at shirt sponsorships from both sides of the pond: comparing global trends versus America’s Major League Soccer. Soccer & Society, 14(4), 515-524.