July 30, 2024
Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports
The Philadelphia Phillies will now have sleeve patches on their uniforms for health insurance company Independence Blue Cross. Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler is shown in the photo above.
The Phillies will begin sporting their first jersey patches Wednesday night at home against the Yankees after reaching an agreement with hometown heath insurance company Independence Blue Cross.
The sponsorship deal was first reported Tuesday by the Sports Business Journal. The Phillies are now the 22nd MLB team to choose a patch sponsor since the league introduced uniform advertising last summer. The patches can be no bigger than four square inches and must be placed on either the left or right sleeve.
Independence, abbreviated IBX, is the largest health insurer in the Philadelphia region serving nearly 3 million people. The Phillies have had a partnership with the company for 36 years. IBX President and CEO Greg Deavens said the patch will help the company stand out in an increasingly competitive health insurance market.
This is IBX's second jersey patch sponsorship. Last year, the company became the Flyers' first patch sponsor with an IBX logo on the shoulder of home and alternate uniforms.
In 2016, the Sixers became the first major professional sports team in the United States to announce a jersey patch sponsorship when they partnered with StubHub. The team later switched to a Crypto.com jersey patch in 2021.
The NFL is the only remaining league among the four major U.S. pro sports not to introduce uniform advertising. One study from sponsorship valuation platform Turnstile estimated the NFL could generate up to $673 million in revenue by creating a jersey patch program, with an average deal value per team reaching about $21.1 million.
The value of the Phillies' jersey sponsorship with IBX was not disclosed.
Fans who buy Phillies jerseys from the team store at Citizens Bank Park can have the IBX patch added starting Wednesday. The IBX deal also includes sponsorship rights to the suite level, formerly held by Dell EMC.
