All articles tagged with #sponsorship
AEW announced Vita Coco as the official hydration partner for Double or Nothing 2026 in New York, with Vita Coco samples and a sponsored Buy In pre-show match (streaming on YouTube and HBO Max) at Louis Armstrong Stadium, plus AEW stars making a booth appearance.
Starting next season, the NCAA will expand both men’s and women’s tournaments to 76 teams, funded by beer, wine and spirits sponsorships and extra TV advertising; the First Four becomes the Opening Round, adding eight games and 12 winners to the 64-team bracket for 120 games in a seven-day window. At-large bids rise to 44 and revenue will be distributed to schools, with critics calling it a money grab by the power conferences.
LIV Golf’s Virginia event opened with its usual spectacle even as investors and fans question the league’s future after the Public Investment Fund pulled funding, highlighting uncertainty about where the tour will play next while drawing crowds for stars like DeChambeau and Rahm.
NJ Transit has reduced the World Cup round-trip rail fare from $150 to $105, funded by private sponsorships and other sources to avoid burdening New Jersey taxpayers or everyday commuters. Tickets go on sale May 13, and the price cut comes after criticism of the initial hike, with the agency still seeking additional private funding to possibly lower costs further.
Bezos reportedly spent about $10 million to sponsor this year’s Met Gala but arrived late by sneaking in through the back, joining Elena Sánchez Blair inside while his partner walked the carpet in couture, and sticking to a plain tux with a notable beard rather than a theme-driven look.
Bryson DeChambeau denied reports he was negotiating a return to the PGA Tour, saying he’s focused on making LIV Golf work and growing its team and junior initiatives, amid funding woes after Saudi Arabia’s PIF signaled it will end its multi-billion sponsorship by 2026 and LIV appointed a new independent board to seek fresh backers. His LIV contract, around $125 million, expires this season, with previous talk of a larger extension not confirmed.
Sports Illustrated’s golf staff debate whether LIV Golf can survive beyond 2026, with some writers predicting an end to the Saudi-backed league and others arguing for a leaner, sponsorship-driven path to 2027 amid funding and media-rights challenges.
The PGA Tour will not host a Hawaii event in 2027, ending a 56-year island-run as it rolls out a revamped schedule. Following The Sentry’s 2026 cancellation due to grass and water issues at Kapalua, the Sony Open in Waialae opened the season with a sponsorship transition; Hawaii’s two events collectively generate about $150 million annually. The Tour is weighing a replacement West Coast stop (potentially Torrey Pines) as it renegotiates sponsorships and venues to shape the new calendar.
An extensive Athletic investigation traces Cremily, a Scottsdale frozen yogurt startup, rising through flashy MLB sponsorships with teams like the Diamondbacks and Angels while promising profits and a mission to empower girls; behind the gloss, former employees and court filings allege a pattern of fraud and misrepresentation by founder Steven Delaportas and operator Kylie Schuyler, with the company unable to deliver product or pay bills, leading to lawsuits, layoffs, eviction, and a high-profile collapse as Delaportas moved on to a new venture.
Despite back-to-back titles, Dodgers fans face record costs as a billionaire payroll and a new Uniqlo field sponsorship drive prices up: opening-day tickets near $200, a Dodger Dog around $30, and a family of four about $413, all amid soaring revenues and massive contracts that critics say prioritize profits over fan affordability.
The Phillies are rebranding the Harry the K’s concession area at Citizens Bank Park as the Ghost Energy Deck due to a sponsorship with the Ghost lifestyle brand. The team says Kalas’s legacy will still be honored—his post-win “High Hopes” singing on PhanaVision will continue, the Kalas statue remains, and the broadcast booth is still named for him.
MLB reportedly struck an exclusive sponsorship with Polymarket, valued at up to $300 million per year over three years (one source cites $150 million per year). If accurate, the deal would dwarf past sponsorships like the NFL’s roughly $1 billion over five years ($200 million per year) and highlights the growing scale of betting/prediction-market sponsorships and a potential for even larger NFL deals with platforms like Polymarket or Kalshi.
The NFL has named Kraft Heinz its first-ever global condiment partner, with the deal set to begin at the 2026 draft, signaling the league's aggressive monetization of sponsorships and tying a food-brand to NFL branding beyond on-field action.
ABC Health in talks to pull the upcoming season of The Bachelorette led by Taylor Frankie Paul amid her alleged domestic assault; Cinnabon has already pulled its sponsorship, and Variety says the premiere remains on track for March 22. The report, attributed to Rob Shuter's Naughty But Nice substack and Star Magazine, marks a potential crisis for the show’s launch.
SXSW’s 2026 edition will be shorter and decentralized, moving festival activity to hotel clubhouses after the demolition of the Austin Convention Center. Despite staffing shakeups, visa and sponsorship hurdles, organizers insist the event will return to Austin, with discounted 2027 badges already on sale and film/TV and music programming continuing to anchor the festival’s identity.