The Colorado Rockies get a jersey-patch sponsor

On July 1, the Colorado Rockies announced they had finalized a uniform patch with York Space Systems, a Denver-based company that specializes in aerospace and defense technology.

In the press release accompanying the announcement, Rockies Executive Vice President Walker Monfort said, “We’re thrilled to welcome York to the Rockies family for many years to come.”

He added, “This partnership not only breaks new ground in sports marketing, but it also unites two Denver-based organizations committed to achieving our goals together. We’re excited for the next chapter of Rockies baseball which begins with York today.”

According to Maury Brown of Forbes, the deal, which is for five-and-a-half years, will begin at approximately $3.2 million and escalate to over $6 million by 2030.

The Rockies were one of the last MLB teams to add a sponsorship patch to their uniforms; however, they are the first professional sports team to partner with an aerospace company.

Granted, a uniform patch is just a uniform patch, but it’s worth taking a few minutes to consider the timing and potential effect of this agreement.

It’s difficult to overlook the irony — First, that the analytics-challenged Colorado Rockies would team up with a technology-focused company seems odd. After all, the Rockies are behind in terms of using technology.

As Patrick Saunders noted on June 18, “The Rockies have 11 people in their analytics department. The staff includes Brian Jones, the head of research and development, as well as five software engineers and five analysts. It’s one of the smallest analytics departments in the majors.”

Yet here they are with a satellite company. Perhaps some best practices will rub off?

If nothing else, they did not partner with AARP, which is the new patch sponsor for the Washington Nationals.

A company that advocates for seniors seems an odd choice for a professional sports team, especially in a league like MLB that is obsessed with attracting younger fans.

Second, the hype video that accompanied the announcement focuses on a Rockies team that no longer exists:

The emphasis here on is the Blake Street Bombers, former Rockies who hit bombs and gave credence to the notion that playing at Coors was like “playing on the moon.”

That has not been the case for the Colorado Rockies in recent years. Those teams have struggled to be effective offensively. For example, right now, Colorado has hit only 88 home runs, which ranks them 24th in MLB.

The incongruities ought be noted and appreciated.

The Rockies need the money, even though it’s not much — While no one knows the Rockies’ finances, we do know they have lost significant television revenue with the cancellation of their AT&T SportsNet contract. In bringing on York, they gain some extra revenue, even though $3.2 million surely pales next to what they’ve lost in TV money.

However, the amount is on the low-end of MLB sponsorships. In August 2024, Jon Greenberg of The Athletic wrote this:

Twenty-three MLB teams now have uniform patch deals and the biggest ones are believed to be the Yankees and Blue Jays in the low-to-mid $20 million range annually, and the Red Sox are close behind at around $17 million. An industry source told The Athletic the league average for the patches is around $7 million to $8 million a year.

The Rockies’ contract with York, then, is less than half of the MLB average for a uniform patch sponsorship, and even at “over $6 million” will probably fall below the MLB average.

This is probably the result of a few factors: the Rockies inability to win and play postseason baseball; their low television viewership rates; and their lack of a recognizable brand.

The announcement follows Walker Monfort’s promotion — Monfort‘s promotion was announced on June 26, just after the halfway point of the MLB season. Five days later, the sponsorship deal was made public with Walker representing the organization at the press conference.

What’s becoming clear is the careful choreography of his promotion, which is designed to solidify Monfort as leader of the Rockies organization. The Rockies may be historically bad — and perhaps York should get extra credit for being willing to affix their brand to this particular Rockies team — but the business of baseball churns on.

What I’m Reading

• A conversation with Jake Bird, the pitching nerd conquering Coors Field | FanGraphs — I always enjoy David Laurila’s conversations with players, and this one is no different. (Plus, Bird is always a terrific interview.)

• When the Rockies and White Sox play one another, does anybody truly win? | The Athletic — Sam Blum spent last weekend at Coors Field watching “the World Series for the two worst teams,” according to Kyle Farmer. Here are his takeaways. (And I’ll share a secret with you: I’m the unnamed writer in the elevator.)

• As Rockies spiral towards historic losing season, front office shakeup could be looming | The Athletic — Not to goo all The Athletic in this newsletter, but Ken Rosenthal has thoughts on what may be about to happen in the Rockies front office.

• What’s next for Chase Dollander? | Purple Row — The Rockies righty was sent to Triple-A Albuquerque on Monday after another dismal outing. Skyler Timmins considers the possibilities.

• Rox top Double-A prospects ready to make impact when called upon | MLB.com — Thomas Harding has spent the week with the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats. His reporting may give a glimpse into the Rockies’ future.

• Ryan Spilborghs does a pretty solid autopsy of where the Rockies are now.

Closing Thoughts

And that’s it for this week.

The Colorado Rockies are now 21-72, which seems like an impossible number, but here we are. I suspect all involved are eager for the All-Star break.

After that, the real questions begin as the trade deadline approaches. Will the Rockies be more active than they usually are? I think they will, but it’s the Rockies, so who knows?

Also, next week on Purple Row, we’ll return to our “State of the Position” series. Generally, we run this in March prior to the start of the season when we evaluate and preview the Rockies at each position. Given the historic nature of this team coupled with the changes they’ve made, both through firings and prospect promotions, it seems like a good time to re-evaluate. In revisiting the catcher and third base positions, I learned a lot — and little of it is encouraging. So that’s something to watch for next week.

As always, thanks for reading!

Renee

Rockies Pitch is a newsletter that focuses on Colorado Rockies baseball. Find me on Bluesky at @Renee.Dechert.com.