May - August
Social Brand
Value Generated
Broadcast Brand
Value Generated
Below is a compilation of all 32 teams and their 2021 jersey patch partners. Most organizations opted for a single partner. However, the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, and Philadelphia Eagles each had two due to partner changes during the year. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Bills, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers went without jersey patches last training camp.
We analyzed a full year of image content from NFL team-owned social channels and found the 27 franchises with jersey patch partners collectively generated $1.82M worth of brand value for their sponsors. Excepting the companies whose partnerships were limited to training camp only or another specific time frame, partners averaged $60.7K in brand value for their association with NFL teams during the 12 months ending March 31, 2022.
The week ending August 4 was responsible for a combined $408,462 worth of brand value for patch partners, the most generated by NFL teams all year. It kicked off a month when the weekly total brand value never dipped below $138,882. As a result, 20% of the total brand value generation for patch partners last season occurred during August.
Organized team activities and the beginning of training camp following the 2021 NFL draft delivered significant brand value to patch partners, including four weeks throughout May and June when they collectively received more than $45K. But it was the two weeks leading up to the commencement of league-wide preseason games that moved the valuation needle the farthest, with the last full week before a complete preseason schedule began – August 5-11 – generating $285,056 in total social brand value.
Fluctuations in how much value each social platform delivers are evident during training camp and preseason. But, overwhelmingly, the battle for supremacy is between Twitter and Facebook, with Instagram lagging slightly behind. Throughout all of July and August 2021, Facebook earned at least 35% of the value share every week, peaking at 62% during the seven days ending July 14, 2021.
Typically, team sponsors received the most value from their patch partnerships during July and August last year – months that aligned with training camp and the beginning of preseason. The most lucrative month for any team-brand association was the Green Bay Packers' partnership with Bellin Health Care, whose social brand value generation of $313,552 during July 2021 was aggrandized by virtue of the company's logo being present on jersey patches.
The graphs below highlight a brand's prominence in preseason social posts as it relates to value. The larger circles represent average post values for team content showcasing patch partners, with the enveloped circles displaying how much average brand value the partners realized. Clear, large logos on jersey patches enhanced the average brand value for sponsors while also closing the gap between total post value and patch value. Good examples of this relationship can be found within bubbles belonging to the Packers, Los Angeles Chargers, and Baltimore Ravens.
