The Atlanta-based expansion team preparing to enter North America’s National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in 2028 has secured a seven-year front-of-shirt deal with insurance company Aflac.
Aflac’s US president, Virgil Miller, announced that the yet-to-be-named franchise will have Aflac’s Georgia-based company featured on the front of the players’ shirts for its first seven years in the top-tier league.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
As part of the sponsorship agreement, a portion of the contribution from Aflac will be donated to the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorder Center at the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Miller told The Associated Press: “We believe in supporting women and women in sports, and as we have looked at some of the statistics out there, we’ve seen that the NWSL has seen four consecutive years of viewership growth. That is very attractive to us.”
While financial details have not been released, it is understood that the deal is the league’s most lucrative front-of-shirt deal to date.
The Atlanta expansion team is owned by Arthur M. Blank after the US business magnate and multi-sport team owner won rights to launch the NWSL’s 17th franchise to enter the league in 2028.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataBlank has reportedly paid a record expansion fee of $165 million, the latest signifier of growing commercial interest in the women's soccer competition.
The team will be operated by Blank’s AMB Sports + Entertainment investment vehicle, through which the billionaire also owns the Atlanta United Major League Soccer franchise, the Atlanta Falcons NFL side, and operates the 71,000-capacity Mercedes-Benz stadium in which both teams play.
The new NWSL franchise will also play at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with modifications to be made at the venue and attendance capped at approximately 28,000.
Speaking on the new sponsorship agreement, AMB Sport and Entertainment president Tim Zulawski said: “Atlanta United, when we launched that franchise, people didn’t see coming down the road 70,000 people regularly coming to matches and being top eight in the world.
“We fully expect that NWSL Atlanta will be a leader in fandom, in attendance, in every aspect of measure that you would look at in measuring a franchise. … Aflac is making an amazing investment, showing how much they care about both this partnership and women’s sports, and we fully expect to deliver tenfold to their investment.”
Beyond his ownership of Atlanta United, Blank has also invested tens of millions of dollars of funding into the US soccer landscape.
This includes $50 million towards the Georgia-based under-construction US Soccer National Training Center (which is known as the Arthur M. Blank US Soccer National Training Center), and then sponsoring the facility through Home Depot, the major US DIY retail chain that he owns.
Home Depot is also a partner of the upcoming World Cup, and as such, that deal is complemented by the partnership for the biggest host country’s representatives.
