Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com
After a one-year hiatus, the Columbus Crew will have a jersey sponsor once again.
The club announced a five-year sponsorship deal with shaving products company Barbasol, which is headquartered in the Columbus suburb of Dublin, Ohio. Financial terms of the agreement were not announced.
The Crew's previous deal was with paint manufacturer Glidden, but the company withdrew its jersey sponsorship ahead of last season. With Columbus taken care of, just FC Dallas, Sporting Kansas City the Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes are the lone MLS teams without a kit sponsor. San Jose recently ended its deal with Amway.
Here are a couple of more items from around MLS:
DAWKINS HEADED BACK TO SAN JOSE
The San Jose Earthquakes have reacquired one of their main offseason targets.
Simons Dawkins is headed back to the Earthquakes on another loan from Tottenham. Dawkins was a revelation for the club in the midfield last season, scoring six goals and adding an element of class
"It was one of our primary offseason goals to bring Simon back to San Jose, but we had to be patient. In the end, that patience paid off," Earthquakes general manager John Doyle said in a team release. "We liked what we saw out of Simon last year. He's a versatile player who adds another dimension to our lineup and we’re excited for his return to the club."
The reacquisition of Dawkins adds to the Earthquakes' impressive offseason haul. Between extending Chris Wondolowski's contract again, trading for Marvin Chavez and Shea Salinas, signing Honduran centerback Victor Bernardez, Colombian playmaker Tressor Moreno and Turkish striker Sercan Guvenisik and drafting UCSB product Sam Garza, San Jose has taken major steps to improving on last year's 8-12-14 record that saw the club miss the playoffs.
FERRARI JOINS IMPACT
Veteran Italian centerback Matteo Ferrari has joined the Impact in California for preseason training with the aim of agreeing to terms on a contract.
According to club president Joey Saputo, if Ferrari gets signed he would not be a Designated Player, something that the club maintains it is still on the hunt for as it nears the opening of its expansion season.
Ferrari is a longtime Serie A veteran, with more than 200 top-flight appearances to his name after stints with a number of top teams including Roma, Inter Milan, Parma and Genoa. He was most recently with Besiktas in Turkey.
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What do you think of the Crew's new sponsorship deal? Think San Jose can be a player in the Western Conference now that Dawkins is back in the mix? What do you make of a defender of Ferrari's caliber possibly joining the Impact?
Share your thoughts below.
With the Barbasol logo on the front Im actually ok with the jerseys now. In fact I like the away one more than the home one. Go figure.
I’m just worried that the Crew is going to try to smuggle dinosaur eggs now.
Well said!
I think they extended the Addidas contract to 2018
Also, Chicago’s new away jersey is awesome. All of Portland’s are effin fantastic.
I agree that Columbus’s away jersey is horrendous. No idea what they were thinking there.
God forbid you support companies that sponsor MLS and are involved in helping to grow soccer in the US?
I think the Galaxy’s new home jersey is pretty sweet.
The problem with all the hideous jerseys stems from adidas. Their unis are crap across the board. Nike, Umbro & Puma have much nicer designs. When does the adidas contract finally end?
Hopefully, Columbus will design a better jersey with their new sponsor unlike the disaster Chicago has to wear.
i think you mean mid by forward. Wenger prefers to play DM if im not mistaken. I dont blame them. Wengers not necessarily a ringer.
Not only do SKC not have a jersey partner, they pay for the right to use Livestrong in the form of a very large donation to that charity. I think that makes our owners pretty classy guys.
The home jersey is pretty atrocious this year, too.
Last year’s were pretty slick IMO. Shouldn’t have changed
Because he is a defender and instead of giving him a chance they are going to play a washed up defender because he used to be ok
+1
Totally agree. The only MLS sponsor I won’t buy or consider buying is Red Bull. And I don’t buy any of that product (energy drinks) of any kind.
why not just put LuveStrong on the front of the shirt?
They are a good US company. Not just by sponsoring the Crew but they have kept their jobs in the USA.
I suggest you support MLS and buy a Babasol product and importantly write a note/e-mail to their brand manager linking the alleged purchase to MLS. They will have metrics of the value of each letter.
It’s getting hard for a DC United fan to buy shaving cream. Can’t buy Gillette, now Barbasol is out. I guess I’m a Noxema man now…
Because Montreal already stated its interest in placing Wenger as a forward and why would that piss you off. Wenger is a rookie and as far as I know most teams have 2 centerbacks and having depth is paramount in any league.
I don’t understand how KC doesn’t have one, especially with their re-branding, their new stadium, and all their huge increase in fan interest.
Not surprised about Dallas or Colorado. Crap attendance and I don’t believe the local sports media pays either of them much attention. Although if Columbus can get one they should too.
Why would you sign Ferrari if you just drafted Wenger? Sometimes this league pisses me off
Actually if Alex Morgan was wearing it it would indeed be saved. It looked good on the female model for the unveil. When put on a male though it no longer works.
No, it won’t. NOTHING can help that.
Well – nope, not even Alex Morgan
No but look for Barbizon to get involved
Granted, I have absolutely no inside knowledge, but I imagine it’s more complicated than just finding a company to pay some money to put their name on your jersey. Aside from not wanting to sell your team short, there are a host of other issues to consider before embarking on such a huge partnership.
Aquanet didn’t offer enough?
Having a sponsor on the front will help save that abomination of an away jersey they have.
How does Dallas, KC, and Colorado not have sponsors? Is it because they are asking for too much money? Or because no one wants to sponsor them? You would think they could find some company to pay something to be on their jerseys. Hopefully they do, it makes the league look better in the eyes of the world. Colorado and KC have jerseys made for sponsorships, they would look good.