Yankees add corporate sponsor patch to their jerseys in latest move to anger fans

The Yankees are adding a patch to their pinstripes.

Beginning July 21, the Yankees’ home and away jerseys will feature a Starr Insurance patch on their left sleeves, marking the first time the team’s famed uniform has incorporated such an advertisement. The team announced the move Wednesday by releasing images of Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole in the new-look threads.

The Yankees, whom Forbes valued at $7.1 billion in March, will get an average of $25 million per year from Starr, according to the Action Network’s Darren Rovell. That’s less than the $30 million annually the Nets receive for the Webull patch on their jerseys.

The news elicited a strong reaction from Yankees fans, many of whom bemoaned baseball’s most-valuable team tinkering with their classic look.

“Yes, you need even more money,” Twitter user Gerry DeFilippo wrote. “The best revenue generating team in the league needs to put a small patch on their jersey to make just a little more money.”

“I thought for sure y’all would hold out on this ‘new’ trend of advertising,” tweeted Sandy Landvick. “Yankees uniforms are classy and timeless. Not anymore.”

The Yankees have often prioritized tradition with their brand. They decline to sell the naming rights of Yankee Stadium, are the only team that doesn’t put players’ names on the back of both their home and away jerseys, and continue to enforce the late George Steinbrenner’s anti-facial-hair policy.

Fans were similarly critical, however, when the Yankees added a Nike swoosh to their jerseys in 2019. Hal Steinbrenner also received pushback last month when he expressed confusion over why Yankees fans felt frustrated by the team sitting in third place in the AL East.

“I’m a little confused this year, being the third week of June, why they’re so upset,” Steinbrenner said on the June 21 episode of ESPN NY 98.7 FM’s “The Michael Kay Show.” “But they’re upset and that’s gonna get my attention, of course.”

The Yankees have since fallen to fourth place in the division. They entered the All-Star break at 49-42 and a game out of the final AL playoff spot.

This season is the first that Major League Baseball has allowed teams to display corporate sponsor patches on uniforms, but not every organization has followed suit. The Tigers, Guardians, Padres and Cardinals are among the other teams to add a patch.

Starr, which began its partnership with the Yankees in 2018, is now the team’s signature partner, according to Wednesday’s announcement. Yankee Stadium will add Starr signage to its outfield wall in front of the home and away bullpens, and Starr will sponsor the daily presentations of the team’s lineup on social media.

July 21 is the Yankees’ first home game of the second half. The Yankees resume play Friday, kicking off a six-game road trip against the Rockies and Angels.

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