We lost Emirates as a sponsor last year. We took too long to find a jersey sponsor and couldn't get one, so we went the route of individual jersey sponsors.
Pretty innovative solution in a tough situation. Good that they were able to sell the 23 sponsorships. The cost was $50,000 for a starting jersey sponsorship and $25,000 for the 8 reserve jerseys so $950,000 total. Apparently that's about what they used to get from Emirates.
They're not the first professional sports team in Australia to go into a season with no major sponsor and they probably won't be the last.
But in every other case I think teams have just taken the hit. Good on the Force for thinking of something different. Provides a blueprint for teams that find themselves in a similar situation in future. Also it's quite cool to have the team just called the "Western Force" rather than the "Emirates Western Force" or the "Volvo Waratahs" or the "QANTAS Wallabies" etc...and I'm guessing if you buy a Force jersey this year as a fan it won't have sponsor branding all over it like every other teams replica jersey does.
Those individual sponsors would be loving it, with the Force playing good rugby and having there best season, there defiantly getting there money's worth!
Good on them!!
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.