MLB Clubs Allowed To Sell CBD Sponsorships

Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs are now allowed to sell CBD sponsorships, in a move that is likely to boom throughout the sporting industry and allow for new sponsorship revenue opportunities, according to Sports Business Journal.

Officials have outlined CBDs are an “approved category” if they are certified by the testing organisation NSF to not have psychoactive levels of THC.

Other major North American leagues have forbidden CBD sponsorships, as a result of the stigma related with psychoactive cannabis.

The news follows an estimate the entire CBD market, whilst currently sitting at $4.9 billion this year, will explode to $47 billion in 2028.

Commenting on the sponsorship, MLB chief revenue officer, Noah Garden, said: “We’ve been watching this category for a while and waiting for it to mature to the point where we can get comfortable with it.”

“We told the clubs if you want to do a deal in the CBD category, it will require two things: One is NSF certification — and none of them are there yet, although around three to five (brands) are in process.

“The other is to get approval from the commissioner’s office.

“The last few companies that came to see us about this, the process of NSF certification was embraced,” he said.

Commenting on the CBD panel at the SBJ Brand Innovation Summit in Chicago, Kevin Garnett, said: “With their emergence and where CBDs are going, not only are you going to see a deal (in the NBA), you are going to see sponsorships on the jerseys.”

“You are going to see CBD products signing players, both women and men,” he said.

There has been a certain reluctance with CBDs, however this may change after MLB’s action.

UFC VP of global partnerships, Grant Norris Jones, said: “It’s a better alternative to addictive products, like pain killers, opioids, and sleeping aids.”

“The big problem has been the different standards and practices by our various broadcast partners when it comes to CBDs,” he said.