Major League Baseball allows CBD sponsorships

MLB said in a June 21 conference call that CBD is now an “approved category,” meaning teams are now allowed to sell CBD sponsorships as long as the brand has received NSF certification (a confirmation that a product is not contains THC). .

According to Sports Business Journal, MLB’s chief revenue officer, Noah Garden, explained the reason for the change. “We’ve been watching this category for a while, waiting for it to mature enough for us to be comfortable with,” Garden said. “We’ve told clubs if you want to make a deal in the CBD category, two things are required: One is NSF certification — and none of those are still there, although there are about three to five [brands] are in progress. The other is getting the commissioner’s approval… Our fans are exactly the kind of customers they’re looking for and we like being first. It’s a good opportunity for us and the clubs. The last few companies that have approached us about this have adopted the NSF certification process. That gave us a level of comfort to move forward.”

Analysts recently shared that CBD could generate as much as $4.9 billion globally in 2022, with a forecast of $47 billion by 2028.

The MLB “patch program,” which began in March 2022, allows each team to place a brand and logo on their team uniforms for outfield players. The San Diego Padres were the first team to accept this new sponsorship through a partnership with Motorola. With that in mind, Garden added that a CBD brand could also potentially be included in a patch deal. “We’re open to doing a patch deal here, depending on the brand and what that brand represents,” Garden said. “It has to have a brand that represents the sport.”

It’s a milestone for CBD in MLB, but the conversation extends to most other esports organizations as well.

NBA athlete Kevin Garnett said in an interview with Sports Business Journal last week after attending the Brand Innovation Summit held June 13-15 in Chicago, Illinois, “I think with the advent and the evolution CBD aren’t the only you’ll see a deal [in the NBA], you will start to see the sponsors on the shirts. Garnett continued, “You’re going to start to see a more active role for CBD products that actually engage gamers, both women and men. And then I think you’ll see education come out a little bit more because that’s what we’re all looking for now. I think CBD is here, it’s a disruptor, it’s revolutionized the pharmaceutical industry as it should be and it’s a great, different solution. If people aren’t using it, I encourage people to go out there and do their own testimonials and experiences with it. It really works.”

Grant Norris-Jones, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) vice president of global partnerships, also spoke at the event about CBD and its benefits for athletes. “It’s a better alternative to addictive products like pain relievers, opioids, and sleep aids,” Norris-Jones said. “The big issue has been the different standards and practices of our different broadcast partners when it comes to CBD… In the UK [UFC sponsor] Love Hemp is sold in the equivalent of Walgreens and CVS. Here, their activations must currently be outside of ESPN. So it was a lot of digital, social and a brand ambassador program with our athletes.”

The MLB first made waves over two years ago to legalize cannabis use for athletes. Following the events of baseball player Tyler Skaggs, who died of an opioid overdose, the organization announced in December 2019 that it would remove cannabis from its “abused drugs” list (but would still test for substances like fentanyl and cocaine).

However, as recently as March 2020, MLB said players may face penalties if they show up to practice or games under the influence of cannabis.

Next, the NBA made history when it announced in October 2021 that it would not be testing its athletes for cannabis during its 75th season, which began in October 2021 and ended in May 2022.