LAST WEEK'S SPONSORSHIP NEWS

These stories cover sponsorship news for February 17-24, 2020. This is part of our "Last Week Today" series that includes a weekly roundup of the past week's most exciting and industry-altering news. Check back on our blog every Monday for updates!

CAPTAIN MORGAN MLS PARTNERS

Rum brand Captain Morgan has secured sponsorship deals with Inter Miami, Los Angeles FC, Minnesota United, and Nashville SC. Agreements with DC United, New York City FC, Philadelphia Union, and Seattle Sounders were already in place prior. These deals with MLS partners will give Captain Morgan a presence at each team's stadium, including private events and limited edition bottles customized to match each franchise's colors and crest

SPONSORSHIP REVENUE DOUBLES

German soccer giants Borussia Dortmund gained internet service provider 1&1 as new shirt sponsor for the club's domestic league games, while keeping Evonik as their shirt sponsor for other competitions. Reportedly, this could equal a combined $43.2 million per year, which would be double the sponsorship revenue from when Evonik was alone on the deal paying $21.6 million annually.

SUBARU NAMING RIGHTS

Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union signed a stadium naming-rights deal with automaker Subaru of America. With this new multi-year partnership, Subaru takes over for Talen Energy as the naming partner, and will change the name from Philadelphia Union stadium to Subaru Park.

As part of the deal, Subaru will become the official and exclusive automotive partner of the Union. The two parties will also align on a series of charitable programs.

GLOBAL SPONSORSHIP FOR PREMIER LEAGUE CLUB

Premier League club Manchester United and major food group Mondelēz International enter into multi-year global sponsorship. Manchester United's current sponsorship strategy prioritizes global deals over regional deals because of costs associated with sourcing and managing brands in multiple markets overseas.

RED BULL OFFICIAL PARTNER

England's Rugby Football Union (RFU) named Red Bull as its official energy drink partner. This multi-year deal includes Red Bull's support for the World Rugby Sevens Series.

The RFU’s chief commercial officer, Simon Massie-Taylor, said: “2020 is set to be a huge year for sevens rugby with a raft of tournaments around the world including Japan this summer.

UPGRADE TO FULL TITLE SPONSORSHIP

Austrian water technology specialist, BWT (Best Water Technology) upgraded its sponsor deal with Racing Point F1 to a full title sponsorship which officially names the team 'BWT Racing Point F1 Team.' This follows betting brand SportPesa stepping down from the role just one year into it's two-year contract due to difficulties in their home market.

BWT is rumored to be paying approximately $15 million annually for this main sponsor position, which is more than SportPesa was when they entered into agreement for a discounted fee.

SportPesa is also allegedly stepping down from its main shirt sponsorship with Premier League club Everton.

Photo Credit: Racing Point F1 Team

BANNER OVER FFP BREACHES

English soccer giants Manchester City were banned from European Club competition for the next two seasons and fined $32.5 million for 'serious breaches' of Uefa's financial fair play (FFP) regulations. Basically, the club overvalued their sponsorship revenue, and were alleged to have disguised investment by their Abu Dhabi owner.

Manchester City have vowed to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas). More to follow..

XFL OFFICIAL GROCERY STORE

Schnuck Markets, Inc. named XFL St. Louis BattleHawks' new official grocery store and presenting partner of several community-centric programs, events, and fan experiences.

St. Louis-based Schnucks joins Ameren Corporation, Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Select, Ballpark Village, Lou Fusz Automotive Network, McDonald’s, Renewal By Andersen and SSM Health as founding partners of St. Louis’ first modern pro football team. Read the official press release at Schnucks.com

Look out next Monday for the usual round-up on sponsorship news.