MLS to Introduce Dramatic Kit Change Midway Through 2026

Other American leagues have opened up more ad space in recent seasons.

MLS will introduce ad space on the lower back of the jersey after the 2026 MLS All-Star break. | Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images

MLS chief revenue officer Carter Ladd has revealed that club kits will feature advertisements on the lower back of their jerseys for the first time later this season.

With the additional ad space, set to be introduced following the 2026 MLS All-Star break, teams will now have four placements on the jersey for branding opportunities, a significant growth from the front of shirt sponsors, previously the only option before 2020. 

MLS currently permits sleeve sponsors on both sides, with the new lower-back space mirroring a common trend in the league’s primary North American competitor, Mexico’s Liga MX. However, jerseys are unlikely to be as crowded as those from some Liga MX clubs and other teams across the Concacaf region. 

The move will allow teams to open a new stream of revenue, potentially vital for clubs facing concerns about their futures, notably the for-sale Vancouver Whitecaps—currently dealing with the threat of relocation—and the San Jose Earthquakes, who are seeking an ownership restructuring. 

At the same time, it is part of what longtime MLS commissioner Don Garber has called “MLS 3.0,” which also includes new stadiums, a revamped player development system, and the shift of the league’s schedule to a fall-to-spring calendar, aligning it with Europe’s premier competitions. 

“We feel like this is the right moment in time to unlock a new asset for our clubs to capture the attention coming out of the World Cup,” MLS chief Ladd said in an interview with Sportico. “The next era for our league is on the horizon.”

Liga MX kits feature several back-of-shirt sponsors. | Leopoldo Smith/Getty Images

The space that teams will now be able to sell will be the second largest on the kits, trailing only the front-of-shirt sponsor. According to the report, logos will have a maximum width of nine inches and a maximum height of four inches, potentially bringing in up to $1 million for some of the most valuable clubs. 

Outside of their primary club’s kits in MLS, clubs will also be able to sell bottom-of-shirt sponsors for teams in MLS Next Pro, a league that currently features 27 clubs, including two that are not affiliated with a larger MLS franchise. 

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Uniform Sponsors Grow in U.S. Sports

The NHL’s Washington Capitals feature ads on their jerseys and helmets. | Matt Garies/NHL/Getty Images

When MLS began in 1996 with limited shirt sponsors, ads on game uniforms in American professional sports were not commonplace. Since then, as the MLS ad space has grown, other leagues have embraced the financial opportunity, with each of the NHL, MLB,  NBA, WNBA and PWHL including sponsors on official competition wear in 2025. 

MLS, at this point, has yet to go so far as to sponsor features beyond the kit, unlike the NHL and PWHL, which feature helmet sponsors. Other leagues also include several sponsors across the official playing surface, a move MLS has not made, aligning its clean pitches with the rest of the world’s top soccer leagues. 

It is not yet known whether the new ad additions will make their way onto consumer-end jerseys in 2026, or whether that move will be delayed to the 2027 14-game sprint season, which previous reports have suggested will not feature a league-wide kit release.

Instead, the new batch of kits will not be unveiled until the 2027-28 season, the first under the new calendar.

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