Atlanta United have yet to play an MLS match, but the club is already in the top tier of the league when it comes to one category: jersey sponsorship.
Before the team has even unveiled their inaugural kits, the club on Tuesday announced that American Family Insurance will emblazon their shirts and training gear.
“It’s a top-tier deal, I’ve got to say,” Atlanta United FC President Darren Eales said. “A top-tier MLS deal.”
The exact terms of the agreement, including its length and total value, were not disclosed. Among reported figures for other jersey sponsorship deals around the league, the LA Galaxy have one of the largest with Herbalife, worth $44 million over 10 years.
Atlanta's primary jerseys will be released later this year, according to Eales, with the secondary jerseys due out before the start of the 2017 season.
For American Family Insurance, which is already one of the founding partners of Atlanta United's new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the deal helps expand its reach, both nationally and within the Atlanta market, where it has served customers since 2008.
“Soccer presents an entirely new audience for us,” American Family Insurance’s Chief Marketing Officer Telisa Yancy said. “The average age of the soccer fan being more millennial, they are the future of insurance. That’s critical for us."
“Atlanta is critical to us in terms of our growth opportunity,” added Yancy. “It’s a very diverse town, representing lots of millennials, lots of ethnic diversity and cultural diversity, and we think it’s critical for us as we grow into the future to have a presence in a city like that.”
That presence will involve a four-stop tryout series around the southeast for aspiring players who wish to audition for the first team. The tour begins on July 23 and will be seeking to unearth talent in Atlanta, as well as Charlotte, N.C., Birmingham, Ala., and Nashville, Tenn.
“We’re giving those players in the region that chance to dream,” Eales said. “Who knows, we might be able to find some hidden gems that might make it to the Atlanta United first team.”
And if they can't necessarily find those gems in the tryout tour, they can lure them in other ways, thanks in part to the resources now at their disposal.
“Having strong corporate sponsors allows us to be able to attract that top talent," Eales said, "and have that competitive team right from the start."
