The 15 biggest sponsorship deals between banks and U.S. sports venues

August 18, 2023 7:34 PM

Despite all the changes in banking, at least one thing has stayed constant for decades: the desire of industry executives to plaster their institutions' names on large event spaces.

"Every time you see our name associated with a sponsorship, you will find traces of participation," said Francesco Lagutaine, chief marketing officer at M&T Bank, which has naming rights for the home stadium of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens. "Participation in community rituals is how we measure our success."

One thing that has changed over the last 25 years is the cost of stadium naming rights. Banks that inked deals in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including JPMorgan Chase and M&T Bank, locked in lower prices than financial institutions that are in the market for naming rights today.

Here are the 15 largest naming-rights agreements between banks and U.S. professional sports venues for which data is available, ranked by total deal value. American Banker reviewed lists of sports venues as well as press releases and news reports announcing the partnerships to determine the biggest deals sponsored by banks. The financial terms of some naming-rights deals have not been disclosed.

Baseball stadiums dominate the list, but a football stadium takes the top spot, and four basketball venues also make the top 15.

SoFi Stadium

$400 million from 2009 to 2029

SoFi's 2019 bid for the naming rights to the California stadium shook the sports advertising world with a deal worth $625 million, the largest sum on record. SoFi Stadium is home to both the Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams. It hosted the 2022 Super Bowl and is set to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Since its opening less than three years ago, SoFi has also hosted sold-out shows for big-ticket performers including Taylor Swift and the K-pop band BTS.

Citi Field

$400 million from 2009 to 2029

When it was announced in November 2006, Citigroup's deal to name the then-unconstructed Queens home of the New York Mets was the biggest on record. Then in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, Citi faced pressure from investors to cancel the expensive deal.

Citi stuck with its agreement and promised not to use any of the $45 billion in government funding from the Troubled Asset Relief Program during the financial crisis to pay for the sponsorship.

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Chase Center

At least $300 million from 2016 to 2036

JPMorgan Chase's agreement for the naming rights at the San Francisco home of the NBA's Golden State Warriors cost at least $300 million and up to $400 million, according to the Sports Business Journal.

"This is a great example of our commitment to the Bay Area," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement announcing the partnership.

JPMorgan's deal for the naming rights to Chase Field in Phoenix back in 1998, which is number 13 on this list, came at a fraction of the price.

ATLANTA - MARCH 26: An entrance to Truist Stadium in Atlanta, Ge

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Truist Park

$250 million from 2014 to 2039

Truist had to install the signs at the home ballpark of the Atlanta Braves twice within a three-year period after it agreed to the naming-rights deal just a few years before a major merger.

SunTrust Banks inked a 25-year deal for naming rights at the suburban Atlanta ballpark starting in 2017. Two years later, SunTrust merged with BB&T in a $28 billion deal, and was renamed Truist.

Truist is among the most prolific banks when it comes to naming rights. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank also sponsors the following stadiums in its home state: Truist Stadium in Winston-Salem and Truist Field in Charlotte, both of which are used for minor-league baseball, and Truist Stadium in Greensboro, which hosts North Carolina A&T's home football games.

U.S. Bank Stadium

$220 million from 2015 to 2040

U.S. Bank secured naming rights to the Minneapolis football stadium a year before its opening in 2016. The building, which is home to the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, hosted the Super Bowl in 2018.

Former U.S. Bank CEO Richard Davis had wanted his bank's name on a Minneapolis sports facility since he took the helm in 2006, he told the Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal after the deal was announced.

"There is no better way to tell the community and, more importantly, your employees, that you are greatly devoted to the community you live in than if you are going to do something like naming a stadium," Davis said.

Bloomberg News

Barclays Center

$200 million from 2009 to 2029

The British bank Barclays had planned an expansion into U.S. retail banking before the financial crisis. Its 2007 deal to sponsor a yet-to-be-built Brooklyn arena was meant to help introduce the bank to a U.S. customer base. Amid the financial crisis in 2009, the parties renegotiated the original deal from $400 million over 20 years down to $200 million.

Today, the Barclays arena is home to the NBA's Brooklyn Nets and the WNBA's New York Liberty. The deal allows either Barclays or the Nets to opt out after 10 years, paving the way for a potential name change.

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Bank of America Stadium

$140 million from 2004 to 2024

Bank of America's deal with the NFL's Carolina Panthers turns 20 in 2024. The bank will have to decide whether to extend its $140 million sponsorship agreement for the Charlotte stadium, which is also home to Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer.

When Bank of America secured naming rights in 2004, its then-CEO, Ken Lewis, was adamant on the future of the bank's relationship with the Panthers. "This stadium will never be renamed again," Lewis said, according to the Charlotte Business Journal.

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TD Garden

$120 million from 2005 to 2025

TD Bank signed a 20-year extension of its agreement with the home of the NBA's Boston Celtics and the NHL's Boston Bruins earlier in 2023. The parties didn't disclose the deal's terms, but the overall cost was likely higher than the original contract negotiated in 2005, according to the Boston Globe.

"We are proud to deepen our commitment to Boston and Greater New England by extending our naming rights to one of the world's most recognizable and beloved arenas," Leo Salom, CEO of TD Bank, said in a January statement.

Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg

Capital One Arena

$100 million from 2017 to 2027

Capital One Financial snagged rights for Washington, D.C.'s largest arena from Verizon in 2017. The McLean, Virginia-based lender agreed to pay $100 million over 10 years to put its name on the home arena of professional teams including the NBA's Washington Wizards, the WNBA's Washington Mystics and the NHL's Washington Capitals.

"As a top local employer, Capital One has deep roots in Washington, D.C.," Kleber Santos, then the president of Capital One's retail bank, said in a statement.

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BMO Stadium

$100 million from 2023 to 2033

BMO took over from Banc of California when it snagged naming rights for the Los Angeles soccer stadium in early 2023. The naming-rights deal should promote BMO's brand among potential new customers, not just Los Angeles FC and Angel City FC fans.

BMO is working on expanding on the West Coast after its parent company, Bank of Montreal, agreed to buy Bank of the West in 2021. The $16.3 billion deal closed earlier this year, and BMO has set the systems conversion for September.

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Citizens Bank Park

$95 million from 2003 to 2028

In 2003, Citizens agreed to a $95 million deal that included naming rights to the Philadelphia baseball stadium. At the time, Citizens was part of the Royal Bank of Scotland, which decided to divest Citizens in 2013. Under the terms of the naming-rights deal, Citizens is also the only financial services firm allowed to advertise on television and radio broadcasts of Phillies games.

"This partnership is a grand slam for Citizens Bank, the Phillies and their fans," Stephen Steinour, then the CEO of Citizens, said in a statement at the time.

Chase Field

$66.4 million from 1998 to 2028

JPMorgan Chase's predecessor Bank One Corp. bought the naming rights to the downtown Phoenix ballpark when the stadium opened in 1998. Since then, the Arizona Diamondbacks have won five division series championships and the franchise's lone World Series championship in 2001. The field's name changed to Chase Field after JPMorgan Chase's 2004 purchase of Bank One.

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Comerica Park

$66 million from 1998 to 2028

Comerica Bank sent shockwaves through the Upper Midwest when it moved its headquarters to Dallas in 2007. At the time, the bank was in the first 10 years of a 30-year naming-rights deal with the Detroit Tigers' baseball stadium, which kept the name Comerica Park. The bank and baseball franchise extended the deal in 2018, guaranteeing the stadium is called Comerica Park through 2034.

"Comerica Bank and the Tigers have a rich history in Detroit, and our ballpark sponsorship has allowed us to celebrate that history," Michael T. Ritchie, Michigan president of Comerica, said in a statement.

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M&T Bank Stadium

$60 million from 2018 through 2027

M&T Bank's headquarters are in Buffalo, New York, but the bank's presence stretches throughout much of the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic region. In Baltimore, the bank's name is atop M&T Bank Stadium, or "The Bank," as locals know it. M&T first signed a naming agreement with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens in 2003, then renewed the deal in 2014 and again this year.

The most recent 10-year extension guarantees M&T's naming rights through 2037. M&T declined to share financial specifics but said the extension had similar parameters as the original deal, along with an upward adjustment for inflation.

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EverBank Stadium

$43 million from 2014 to 2024

EverBank Financial's 10-year, $43 million deal for naming rights to the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars is set to end in 2024. EverBank has owned the rights since 2010, but the stadium hasn't kept the same name over the past decade.

New York-based TIAA Bank bought Jacksonville, Fla.-based EverBank in 2017 for $2.5 billion, at first operating the banks as separate brands and leaving the stadium named after EverBank.

TIAA officially changed EverBank's name to TIAA Bank in 2018, and the football stadium's name became TIAA Bank Field. After another sale, TIAA said it will rebrand as EverBank, and the home stadium of the Jaguars will again become EverBank Stadium for the 2023 season.