The Chicago White Sox Major League Baseball franchise will earn around $2m (£1.5m/€1.8m) per year from its stadium naming-rights partnership with mortgage lender Guaranteed Rate, according to the Crain’s Chicago Business newspaper.
Last week, Guaranteed Rate replaced telecommunications company US Cellular as the stadium’s naming rights partner. As a result, the ballpark changed its name from US Cellular Field to Guaranteed Rate Field.
The 13-year deal comes into effect on November 1 and includes the option of a further year that would take the agreement into 2030.
Crain’s has reported that the team's deal with Guaranteed Rate will be worth $20.4m over the next 10 years. According to the newspaper, the team’s previous deal with US Cellular was worth about $3.4m per year.
The report, citing data from sponsorship trend research group IEG, added that MLB teams with stadium naming-rights partnerships receive an average of $4.4m per year. However, the statistics are somewhat misleading given that financial services company Citi pays $20m a year to have its name on Citi Field, the home stadium of the New York Mets.
US Cellular took on the White Sox stadium’s naming rights in 2003. The venue had previously been named Comiskey Park after founding owner, Charles A. Comiskey.
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