For the first time in Major League Baseball history, teams will have advertising patches on their regular-season uniforms this year.
The Yankees, however, will not wear such a patch on Opening Day, The Post has learned.
It is not that the Yankees are against putting the advertising on their fabled pinstripes, but they are not going to wear advertising from just anyone and for any price, according to sources.
It’s going to be their price and their type of company. As a result, if the Yankees wear advertising patches this season, it likely won’t be until the All-Star break at the earliest. If they don’t have one by then, they could still add one later in the season, but it would more likely be pushed to 2024.
“We continue to engage the marketplace for a jersey patch partner,” Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo told The Post.
The Mets, too, are looking into a patch, but they don’t have one lined up yet either, Nancy Elder, a team spokeswoman, said.
By adding advertising patches to uniforms, MLB has entered into a lucrative game. To ensure maximum exposure, left-handed hitters will have the advertising patch on their right sleeve, while right-handed hitters will have them on their left sleeve. That is so the patch will appear more on TV, as it will face a pitcher. The patches are expected to be 4 inches by 4 inches.
Among the teams with patch deals are the Red Sox, who will wear patches for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) as part of a decade-long agreement that is reportedly for around $170 million in total.
Baseball is following other sports to the patch game. Uniform sponsorship has been prevalent internationally for years, while the NBA and NHL have recently joined the game.
The Knicks had a patch, but don’t have one now. The Sports Business Journal reported that team owner James Dolan wants $30 million a year for the Knicks, which, according to CNBC, is what the Nets currently receive from online brokerage Webull.
Want to catch a game? The Yankees schedule with links to buy tickets can be found here.
The exact number the Yankees are looking for is likely in the Knicks’ range, if not higher. They look at the pinstripe brand as being the top one in sports, due its illustrious championship history, which includes 27 World Series titles. While there has been resistance to the patch in some markets, the Yankees have always loved their traditions, from no beards to no alternative jerseys.
But times have changed, which has resulted in the Yankees wearing different hats and uniforms on MLB theme days that have been set around July 4 and other dates. Their uniforms also have been adorned by a Nike “Swoosh” since the 2020 season.
It seems inevitable that the Yankees’ uniforms will have an advertising patch at some point. It just won’t be Opening Day.
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