The Miami Marlins have signed a jersey patch deal with home security firm ADT ahead of the team’s season opener on Thursday against the New York Mets. Players will showcase ADT’s blue octagon logo on their sleeves.
The Marlins and ADT would not comment on the terms of the agreement, but the multi-year deal with an option to extend is estimated to be worth roughly $5 million annually—on par with the Cincinnati Reds’ deal with Kroger. Major League Baseball requires these patch sponsorships to be at least three years long.
The Marlins are the seventh team to announce a jersey partner 12 months after MLB and its players’ association approved the advertising during last year’s negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement. Logos are limited to four-by-four inches.
ADT is based in Boca Raton, Fla., and generated $6.4 billion in revenue last year. It was the first company Marlins executives met with after jersey ads were approved by the league.
“We made a target list,” David Oxfeld, Marlins chief commercial officer, said in a video interview. “A company based in South Florida with a 150-year history that continues to innovate and find different ways to meet their customers’ needs became a no-brainer for us.”
ADT looks at this partnership as bigger than a patch on a jersey. “We really think about all the business and community elements where we’re aligned, which extends far beyond just the patch,” DeLu Jackson, ADT chief marketing officer, said. “We have all these great marketing opportunities, activation, lead generation, customer protection, community programs, and an innovation showcase in the ballpark.”
The brand will be the Marlins’ official smart security partner and official solar energy partner as part of the agreement. ADT and the Marlins did not use any outside agencies to negotiate the deal.
“Safe at home” has been an ADT mantra, so Jackson sees this as an authentic integration into the sport. “It’s a family game and community-based sport and organization,” Jackson said. “That allows us to engage our commercial business, solar business, security business, our employees and their families in the community to participate.”
ADT’s smart security products will be featured at loanDepot park, along with product giveaways. The two organizations will create programs across South Florida to educate and help residents in underserved areas by integrating ADT security products and technology.
Authentic jerseys purchased in the stadium will be available with the logo during the first homestand. This follows MLB’s guidelines and is similar the NBA’s roll out of its patch program for the 2017-18 season. Over time, the ADT logo will be available on jerseys beyond the authentic versions.
ADT was not an existing Marlins partner, so the deal is 100% additive to revenue and provides a significant boost to the club’s sponsorship total. The Marlins ranked No. 29 in MLB attendance last year, and TV viewership was also near the bottom, but the patch deal allows ADT to reach big markets in the Marlins’ division with one-third of their games against teams in Atlanta, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. “The great part is the logo travels,” Jackson said.
Total cash rights fees from MLB sponsorships were $1.2 billion in 2023, according to IEG. The jersey patches will provide a boost in 2023, but the market has been slow to develop as supply exceeds demand in some cases with MLS, NBA and NHL also selling uniform space.
The Arizona Diamondbacks (Avnet), Houston Astros (Oxy) and San Diego Padres (Motorola) are among the clubs to ink deals. The biggest so far is the Boston Red Sox’ 10-year pact with Mass Mutual worth $17 million a year on average.
The New York Yankees—baseball’s most valuable team at $7.1 billion—have hired Legends to sell their jersey patch and are expected to command as much as $30 million annually to adorn the Yankee pinstripes.
