Phillies Jersey Sponsorship

A little while ago, Philadelphia’s MLS franchise, the Union, announced a jersey sponsorship with Bimbo Bakeries. Bimbo is Mexico’s largest food corporation and the largest bakery in the world. They make Entenmann’s, Sara Lee, Stroehmann’s, and Thomas’ English Muffins, to name a few. The head of the United States division of Bimbo is located in Horsham, making them a natural fit for a Philadelphia soccer team.

This got me to thinking, why can’t the Phillies get themselves a jersey sponsorship? As far as I know, among the major professional sports leagues in the world, only the MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL do not allow sponsorship on their team attire. This needs to change. Cliff Lee ain’t free! The Phils need cash and I say jersey sponsorship is a reasonable plan. Here are a few suggestions for sponsors:

1. The Adult sponsor – You can’t go with Bimbo, but you can go to the bimbos – Cheerleaders Gentleman’s Club. The ladies of Cheerleaders already frequent the ballpark, handing out coupons and such to patrons as they walk around and to the stadium. It’s not a huge company so the Phils wouldn’t get as much money for the sponsorship, but sometimes money isn’t everything...

2. The Hispanic sponsor – If Bimbo goes over well with Philadelphians, maybe the Phils should stick with what works and go with Goya. When I think generic Mexican food products, I think Goya! Goya Foods is the largest, Hispanic-owned food company in the United States so they should be able to pony up some bucks for the sponsorship. Also, they could cater the post game buffet. I’m sure Chooch would approve.

3. The Big Money sponsor – Sometimes you have to go where the money is. In the world, the money is mainly two places: oil companies and Wal-Mart. Wally World grossed over $400 billion last year, more than any other company. They could easily throw $15-20 million at the Phils for a jersey sponsorship. Cha-ching!

4. The Image Conscious sponsor – Who has a ton of money and could benefit from the good publicity of being associated with the Fightin’ Phillies? Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, or the Democratic party could all use an image “pick-me-up” but nobody is richer and more unpopular than…China. That’s right, let the Chi-coms send some money this way that doesn’t have to be repaid! The Chinese send the Phils about $50 million per year and in return the team throws the flag on their jersey and renames “Ashburn Alley” the “Chinese Civil Rights Celebration Corridor.” Tibet what?

5. The Gambling sponsor – If you look around European club soccer, you see many, many gambling sponsors like Bwin, SBOBet, 188Bet, Mansion.com, Betclic, etc. Hell, look at We Should Be GMs! Simple fact, gambling gets people paid. Especially those that aren’t doing the gambling. And the last time I checked, Major League Baseball is totally cool with gambling. So, the Phils should get a gambling sponsor. I say Bodog because they have a cool name.

6. The Losing sponsor – Some people are desperate for their team to win a championship. Some people are desperate for their team to get close to a championship. Like Eagles fans, for instance. If the Eagles and their fans want the team, or at least their team logo, to win a championship, they might want to throw that bird head on the front of the Phillies jersey. In addition, if the lockout happens, this may be the only way Birds fans can see their “team” play. They can buy the sponsorship with the money they didn’t spend on Julius Peppers last year.