Captain Morgan Becomes The Official Spiced Rum And Spirts Partner Of MLS
The world of soccer looks to be continuing its already explosive summer run as the MLS announced a partnership with Captain Morgan’s Rum making it the official spiced rum and exclusive spirits partner of the league through 2022.
“We’ve been really excited,” stated MLS senior vice president of business development Carter Ladd. “Anytime you can be front and center with a market leader, that’s a great thing.” The league spent the majority of a year looking into various spirit companies, but in the end, Captain Morgan was the clear winner.”
Along with sponsoring the MLS All-Star Game and Campeones Cup, the iconic rum brand will also serve as an official sponsor of five MLS clubs: Chicago Fire, D.C. United, New York City FC, the Philadelphia Union, and the Seattle Sounders.
Fans of those five clubs should expect to see custom labeled bottles of Captain Morgan’s Rum featuring the clubs team colors and logo for purchase at the stadium for those individuals of legal drinking age.
“From New York to Seattle to Los Angeles, everything about Major League Soccer, its intensely passionate fanbase, the atmosphere at each match, and the exciting growth of the sport in the U.S. mirrors the energy that Captain Morgan stands for,” stated Christina Choi, the senior VP of rum, gin and tequila for DIAGEO, Captain Morgan’s parent company. “Our goal is to reward that dedicated fanbase, and the crews that get together to support their clubs each and every week, with the fun only Captain can bring because we know there is more fun to be had. We’ll kick off the fun later this month when we’re on the ground at All-Star Week in Orlando, and we can’t wait to see the fan fervor firsthand.”
The partnership comes after the MLS’s June announcement that it would be the first major professional sporting league in the U.S. and Canada to allow spirt and sports betting companies to buy jersey sponsorships beginning in 2020.
The new partnership also comes on the heels of two very successful years for the MLS. In 2018, U.S. broadcast viewership was up 6%, reaching more than 26 million viewers across all networks. The league also reaped the benefits of their investment in digital and social media. There was a 10% increase in social followers from 2017 to 2018 and a 75% increase in video views over the same period.
“We’ve really tried to elevate the content we put out on our league channels while also finding new ways to work with our media partners,” stated Seth Bacon, MLS senior vice president of media. “Whether it’s been the new clubs, long-standing ones like D.C. United or the big names coming into the league, there are a lot of storylines that we think people are excited about.”
Additionally, in 2017, Adidas paid $117 million per year for an apparel deal, and since then the league signed contracts with Audi, Heineken, Home Depot, MGM Resorts, and meditation app Headspace.
While the financial terms of the Captain Morgan’s deal are still unknown, an inside source says the brand is making an estimated eight-figure commitment over three years.
