U.S. leagues resist uniform sponsor temptation

By Jeffrey Goldfarb

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Professional U.S. sports leagues are reluctant to sell prominent sponsorship on uniforms as they develop their own brands but are not ruling out the possibility as they seek new ways to generate revenue.

"I would never say never to anything," Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said at the Reuters Media Summit in New York this week. "But we will be very, very careful."

European soccer teams generate millions of dollars from jersey sponsorship. Giant insurer American International Group Inc., for example, recently signed a four-year shirt sponsorship deal with Manchester United valued at 56.6 million pounds, or about $106 million.

In the United States, only NASCAR has sold easily seen advertising on driver uniforms and cars, though Major League Soccer recently embarked on a similar program.

The major U.S. sports leagues may need to eventually consider making their uniforms available to sponsors as players' salaries continue to rise, television ratings stagnate and ticket and concession price hikes discourage fans.

The National Football League has resisted tempting offers to splash brands on its jerseys, Commissioner Roger Goodell told Reuters, and has purposefully declined them as the league tries to showcase the NFL brand.

"It's a calculated decision," he said. "The key to our success has been free television and the coverage we get on a global basis, and we think this has been better for the free television model because those sponsors buy advertising time rather than buying it on the jersey."

The logo of Adidas unit Reebok is displayed on NFL jerseys and Motorola Inc. gets placement on the headsets it supplies coaches, but those small sponsorships are as far as the league plans on going for now.

"I don't rule it out going forward, but I do not see in the near future any way that we would change our business model," Goodell said. "We are not tempted by a particular financial offer in the short term; it's long term, what is best for the

NFL."

Too much marketing risks offending fans, as Major League Baseball found out two years ago when it tried to promote the "Spider-Man 2" movie on its bases. A day after a public outcry, the league scrapped the plans.

"We are held to a different standard," Selig said. "Part of the lure of our game is the history and tradition."

Still, some leagues see the issue remaining a temptation for owners down the road.

As the National Basketball Association follows through on its international expansion plans, Commissioner David Stern speculated that uniform sponsorship could become a factor within the league.

"As we go global, where we learn things from other people, it wouldn't surprise me if there came a time when the owners were attracted by an offer that got their attention," Stern said. "But we're not encouraging it."