The New York Jets are taking advantage of a new NFL rule this summer that will allow them to place a corporate logo on their practice jerseys as a source of additional revenue.
The rule allows teams to sell sponsorships on their practice jerseys, and the patches can be no larger than 3 1/2-by-4 1/2 inches. The patch the Jets will wear starting in training camp features the logo of Atlantic Health, a New Jersey-based health care provider that owns naming rights on the team's training facility in Florham Park, N.J.
"In this climate, teams have to find ways to deliver additional value to their corporate sponsors because everyone is facing their own unique challenges," said Matt Higgins, the team's executive vice president of business operations. "It's an example of trying to go the extra mile to deliver value."
No matter the economic climate, teams are always looking to find an extra dollar. A generation ago, selling naming rights to a stadium to a corporate sponsor would have boggled the mind. Now stadiums without one are the exception. This is the next logical step. In due time, the actual game uniforms will have corporate sponsors. That has already happened in the soccer world.
Rampant commercialism is a fact of life in sports today. It will only get worse. Sadly, it is the price to pay if a team wants to add the Bart Scott's of the world.