The project for the centralized sale of rights, such as the uniforms of Liga MX teams, opens a new front to be regulated, sponsorships visible on T-shirts
The pandemic affected the finances of the Division I teams and, in this situation, the president MX League, Mikel Arriola, recognized ESPN that one of the proposals they are analyzing is that a single brand visualizes all the teams and thus ensures a higher amount of revenue for each of the 18 clubs. This situation will have to open the regulation that could benefit or affect each team.
Francisco San José, professor of sports marketing at the School of Sports Sciences at Anahuac University, pointed out ESPN Digital that, in principle, the idea can benefit each team, as they will all receive a fair share, but first they should liquidate the trade agreements that exist between the different clothing brands that each of the institutions wears.
“This is a charity agreement. Agreements have different validity and there are agreements that are concluded or if there are agreements in force and are seen little from a financial point of view. It is a complicated legal issue, but there is a possibility and the sum of all of them will generate more money than what they can get through trademarks, “he said.
For the specialist, the main disadvantage is between clubs that sell more shirts every year and for this they must have a bonus that generates more resources compared to clubs that have fewer fans in a centralized sale of rights, in this case of uniform.
“What is usually done is to divide everything into two parts. One hundred percent of t-shirt sales are split in two. A percentage that is set for everyone. For example, 70% is shared among all, but the other 30% can be variable. Depending on the number of shirts sold, the number of fans and other factors is distributed. Those who sell more earn more than the rest of the percentage and those who sell less because they get fewer variables. The fixed part makes it correct. The ones who contribute the most to the business are the ones who receive the most “, he said.
Another aspect that generates controversy during each tournament is the number of sponsors that each club exposes on the jersey material. While León has nine sponsors on the shirt, Chivas has five. This could lead to a conflict with trading partners and before that it must regulate the number of brands that each can have in their uniform.
“In the case of leagues, there are regulations and it’s like the number of sponsors that a team can have on the shirt. With the issue of pandemic and economic effects, the leagues have taken a weaker position and reduced sponsorship restrictions. MLS launched the sleeve problem, this was due to the fact that, due to the pandemic, the teams can negotiate with certain sponsors, but they are counted “, he commented.
For example, the NBA only allows one sponsor on the shirt, while for NFL uniforms only the brand that makes the uniforms is visible.