USL's sponsorship deck grows again- CBS deal a major factor
After years of struggles to ink meaningful national sponsorships, USL is on a roll
USL has signed Prinx Tires as the league’s first official tire partner. It’s no small irony this partnership happens days before USL makes it’s debut on CBS Sports (over-the-air). My contacts and sourcing indicate that USL, which for many years struggled with meaningful corporate partnerships has gotten a big boon from its deal with CBS Sports in addition to its renewal with ESPN (which involves far better broadcast windows than the previous deal).
The wide-ranging partnership between USL and Prinx officially begins this Saturday, April 6, in conjunction with the first match in USL history to be broadcast on network television: Louisville City FC vs. Indy Eleven, 4 p.m. ET on CBS.
Reflecting Prinx’s dedication to high-level performance, the partnership will focus thematically on celebrating teams and players that are performing at the highest level.
“The USL is honored to work alongside Prinx – a longtime global leader and now our first Official Tire Partner – during a time of tremendous growth for both organizations,” said USL Chief Commercial Officer Court Jeske. “Prinx recognizes that the USL is vital and authentic to American soccer and has committed to supporting our full pathways from youth to professional for women and men.”
The partnership with the USL will come to life most vividly through popular content initiatives that celebrate high-level performance, including:
Prinx Performance Standings: Prinx will be the presenting partner of the regular-season standings in all three of the USL’s professional leagues: the women’s USL Super League; the men’s USL Championship and USL League One. Each league’s standings page will bear the brand “Prinx Tires Performance Standings.”
Prinx Tires Most Valuable Performer (“MVP”): At the conclusion of each nationally televised USL Super League, USL Championship and USL League One match, a “Prinx Tires Most Valuable Performer,” or “MVP,” will be selected and featured on air and through USL social media channels. Prinx Tires also will be the presenting partner of the end-of-season “Player of the Year” award in each of USL’s three professional leagues.
Prinx Tires Power Rankings: Prinx branding and the story of performance will be integrated with the popular weekly Power Rankings features on the league websites.
The partnership includes additional custom content activations, integrated media, in-stadium branding, marquee event dealer activations and a national fan sweepstakes, details of which will be announced later.
Prinx Chengshan is a leading global tire manufacturer with a steadfast commitment to producing high-quality tires for a wide range of vehicles. With a focus on research, innovation, and sustainable practices, Prinx Chengshan continues to set new standards in the industry, providing reliable and high-performance solutions to customers worldwide.
“We are very proud to become the Official Tire Partner of the United Soccer League, a true watershed milestone for the Prinx Tires brand in North America,” said Samuel Felberbaum, President of Prinx Chengshan Tire North America. “As the sport of soccer continues its massive surge in popularity across the United States, this breakthrough partnership will allow Prinx to build brand awareness among the legions of passionate soccer fans across the country, as well as drive engagement with our extensive network of dealers coast-to-coast.”
It’s worth noting in USL’s franchise model, league sponsorships don’t benefit the individual teams in the same direct manner they do in MLS’ single-entity model (this isn’t to say they don’t benefit the clubs - they do, but most of the revenue remains in the league office). But increased exposure nationally and numerous local TV deals have helped USL’s individual clubs do better with sponsorship this season than in the past.
It would be great to have an article that dissects the Pros & Cons of the USL franchise model vs. the MLS'. For example, does the franchise model allow individual USL clubs to retain a greater share of gross receipts relative to the MLS, which makes up for the lack of a cut from sponsorships such as the Prinx deal?