ST. LOUIS–Prior to Tuesday night’s series opener against the Los Angeles Angels, St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III announced a seven-year sponsorship agreement with Stifel, the St. Louis-based wealth management firm.
The company will be the team’s first sponsor featured on jersey sleeves. Major League Baseball announced last year that clubs could incorporate jersey sponsors starting in 2023.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch was first to report the deal, which also includes other promotional and signage elements at Busch Stadium. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Stifel is also the official sponsor of the St. Louis Blues and is in the middle of a 10-year sponsorship agreement for naming rights to the Stifel Theatre, adjacent to Enterprise Center downtown.
The San Diego Padres were the first team to reach a jersey sponsorship deal, when they announced an arrangement with Motorola.
The Angels also have a jersey sponsor in Foundation Building Materials, based in Orange County, Calif. The Cardinals, which will begin wearing the patch Tuesday night, are the ninth team with a jersey sponsor.
Last fall, Nielsen projected that the average value of live broadcast exposure received by sponsors of a MLB jersey was worth $12.3 million per season.