MLS Crew Ink Five-Year Jersey Sponsorship Deal With Barbasol Brand

The MLS Crew and Perio have reached a five-year deal making the Barbasol brand the club's new jersey sponsor, effective this season. Financial terms were not disclosed. All Crew jerseys -- game, retail and youth -- along with the team's practice jerseys, will be emblazoned with the Barbasol mark. The deal includes field-level LED signage and TV, radio and print ads. Barbasol also becomes the club's official shaving cream. Within the central Ohio region, the company will market select cans of Barbasol featuring the Crew logo (Crew/Perio Inc.). Crew President & GM Mark McCullers said that the agreement is the "most lucrative sponsorship deal in team history." The Crew’s previous jersey sponsorship deal with Glidden expired prior to the '11 season and was worth $1M per year (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 2/16). McCullers said the Barbasol deal will help with the team's perception among other potential sponsors. He said, "There’s a company like Barbasol that believes in the Crew. So I think that other companies are going to take note and it’s going to provide us with some momentum” (WBNS-CBS, 2/15). Barbasol's other sports partners include ESPN, the Big Ten Network and CBS' Boomer Esiason. The company also has ad deals with the Blue Jackets and Cavaliers. Perio CEO Tom Murray said of the Crew deal, "This is getting us into the game by going on the field. This is real appealing" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 2/15). The deal means the Rapids, FC Dallas and Sporting KC are the only MLS clubs without jersey sponsors (THE DAILY).

FLYING HIGH: In L.A., Kevin Baxter noted MLS Chivas USA unveiled their redesigned jerseys yesterday, and the new look "bears more similarities than differences with the old design." While there are "subtle differences in the uniform's physical appearance, the biggest change is the high-tech fabric the Adidas jerseys are made from, which is said to improve comfort and performance" (LATIMES.com, 2/15). ESPNLA.com's Scott French noted Chivas USA "took to the skies" to unveil the jerseys, part of a "larger marketing scheme meant to surprise and dazzle while embracing tradition." Three Chivas USA players modeled the new look during a flight from their parent club's home of Guadalajara to L.A. Chivas USA Tuesday flew club execs and players, reps of sponsors and partners and several media to Guadalajara, where there "was time to eat, sleep, eat and head back to the airport little more than 12 hours later." Mexican airline Volaris, a club sponsor since midseason last year, used the event to "promote its LAX-to-GDL service" (ESPNLA.com, 2/15). Chivas USA VP/Marketing & Sponsorship Rodrigo Morales said, "It was three months of planning and permits, as well as other things related to the U.S. and Mexico, and it was something [that] seems to have worked well." Chivas USA G Dan Kennedy, who participated in the event, said, "Hopefully there is a great reward with it with Volaris. We want to promote them like they promote us. Hopefully, this is a creative marketing idea that is not only going to get Chivas USA’s name out there, but Volaris’ as well" (MLSSOCCER.com, 2/15).