The New York Yankees have one of the most iconic uniforms in sports, and they have officially turned it into an advertising space.
Fans were outraged on Wednesday when the Yankees announced that they will be adding an advertising patch to their famous pinstripe jerseys beginning on July 21.
Starr Insurance, a team sponsor since 2018 that most people have never heard of, will pay an average of $25M per season for the patch through 2030. The Yankees reportedly passed on a company that was willing to pay $35M per year.
Yankees fans wouldn’t care if the deal paid the team $1B a year. The vast majority of them are disgusted and view the classic Yankee threads — which are still the only road uniforms in the league without names on the back — as sacred.
The Yankees are just the 13th MLB team to add a jersey patch, which makes the decision even more surprising. It would be one thing if they decided to take the money because “everybody’s doing it,” but they are one of the teams leading the charge.
Fans will eventually get over it, of course. Jersey patches have become more common across all major sports. The New York Mets originally had a hideous one but made some tweaks to it, and most people don’t think twice about it now. The same will be true for the Yankees before long.
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