Ahead of the start of the 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, a number of the competition’s franchises, and indeed the league itself, are securing new commercial agreements.
Ford, the major US automobile manufacturer, has become the latest official partner of Major League Baseball on an ‘exclusive’ basis.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The multi-year partnership sees Ford designated as MLB’s official automotive partner, and the brand will maintain an in-stadium branding presence across the season, including at major events such as the opening-day game, the All-Star week, the Field of Dreams Game, and the World Series.
Through the agreement, the pair will offer co-branded competitions and experiences, and Ford will also serve as the presenting sponsor of MLB’s 'July 4th' 2026 promotional campaign.
This partnership will span the wide array of MLB competitions, such as the Minor League Baseball professional competitions, and youth-category Little League Baseball and Softball, including the annual Little League World Series.
MLB chief marketing officer, Uzma Rawn Dowler, commented: “Ford and MLB are both American heritage brands that continue to innovate in their industries and strengthen their popularity and relevance decade after decade.
“We love the creative marketing energy that Ford plans to bring to MLB, while the national scale of our content is sure to drive even greater consideration and fan engagement for our new partner.”
Meanwhile, at the franchise level, the Tampa Bay Rays have finally secured a jersey patch partner in the form of financial services and online trading company Webull.
Based locally in St. Petersburg, Florida, Webull will take up the primary sleeve sponsorship branding area on all Rays jerseys throughout the 2026 campaign.
Webull first partnered with the Rays at the beginning of the 2025 season, when the team had to play games at temporary venue Steinbrenner Field after damage to its Tropicana Field home.
With the team now playing in its home stadium once again, Webull has expanded the partnership to jersey patch partner status.
With this deal, MLB’s jersey patch roster is complete, as the Tampa Bay Rays were the last remaining team without a jersey patch partner up to this point.
The Rays last reached the post-season in 2023 as a wild-card, and reached the World Series as recently as 2020, falling to the LA Dodgers in six games.
The Baltimore Orioles, the Rays’ American League East division rivals, have also added a new commercial partner to their portfolio – PureWager Group.
As the exclusive sports betting partner of the team, PureWager Group will take up branding presence across the team’s 45,000-capacity Camden Yards ballpark, including as the title sponsor of the new ‘PureWager Pavilion’ events space beneath the venue’s scoreboard.
The pavilion was constructed in 2025 as part of ongoing upgrades to Camden Yards.
PureWager is seeking to leverage this partnership as part of its recent entry into the US betting market, with group chief executive Elliot Banks saying: “Our goal is to enhance the fan experience responsibly, using our technology and operational expertise to create engaging, community-first entertainment that complements the game we all love.”
After a strong offseason, the Orioles are hotly tipped to return to the post-season for the first time since 2024.
Elsewhere in MLB, the Atlanta Braves franchise has continued its recent slate of long-term partnership extensions, tying up Equifax for a new eight-season term.
The consumer credit reporting firm has been a sponsor of the Braves since 2011, and that agreement will now continue through the 2033 season.
Equifax will crucially retain its prominent branding presence on the left wall at the 41,108-seater Truist Park stadium.
This month, the Braves have extended pest control company Arrow Exterminators through 2036, and airline partner Delta through 2035, with this new Equifax agreement highlighting the franchise’s strategy of securing deals with a long-term view.
The Braves have won the World Series four times, most recently in 2021, and claimed the National League East Division title each year between 2018 and 2023, securing a wild card playoff berth in 2024 before missing out on the postseason entirely last season.
