Is MLS Breaking New Advertising Ground?

Last week I attended a conference about Sport Marketing in Las Vegas. One of the presentations was from a team of academics exploring fan reaction to sponsors on the MLS jerseys.

Historically, the uniforms of sports teams in most American professional leagues have been free of advertising. Uniforms have been regarded as one of the last sacred spaces where commercialism has not encroached. Many critics have suggested that these uniforms should be kept free of advertising. However, in Europe soccer teams regularly place the sponsor’s logo front-and-center. Even in the US, some sports have embraced advertising on jerseys or uniforms: NASCAR drivers are plastered with logos. PGA golfers are also not shy about generating revenues by selling ad space on their clothing. Nonetheless, MLB, the NFL, and the NBA have been hesitant to go that far. They’ve certainly considered it according to the researchers; the NBA and NFL began selling ads on practice jerseys. MLB allowed ads on jerseys in games in Japan.
But in their case history is working against them…would fans tolerate such a historical adjustment to their beloved teams? Specifically, the research team looked at a few questions that we all might have. I’ll list them below and see if any of you respond. I’ll report the findings from a nationwide study of sport fans later this week.

 Will the public tolerate ads on MLS jerseys?
 Are there differences between how sports fans & non-fans view this issue?
 Could MLS be starting a trend other pro sports leagues would mimic?
 How will increasing commercial creep affect relationships between fans and clubs?