MLB is the first major league sports venue to officially have a CBD sponsor, a move that will benefit the league a portion of the growing U.S. CBD market, which is valued at $4.9 billion worldwide this year, and expected to achieve $12.64 billion by 2026.
Charlotte’s Web CWEB CWBHF has signed a deal declaring it the “Official CBD of the MLB,” which includes exclusive category rights and cover art this year’s postseason and another three years.
Charlotte’s Web is launching a line of CBD products through its own e-commerce that will feature MLB’s well-known silhouette batter logo. The brand will operate electronic signage during the playoffs and world series and is planning a World Series Sweepstakes promotion, according to Sports Business Journal (SBJ). As part of the agreement, MLB will also receive shares in Charlotte’s Web Holdings.
The MLB officially approved CBD sponsorships for team jersey patches and more this June. Sponsorships can only be sold if the company has been certified by the National Sanitary Foundation (NSF), This means that CBD products cannot contain psychoactive amounts of THC.
“We’ve been watching this category for a while, waiting for it to mature enough for us to get comfortable with,” said MLB’s chief revenue officer Noah garden said then.
In June, MLB opened CBDs as a sponsorship category for the league and its clubs, provided that products seeking league or team sponsorship rights are NSF certified. Charlotte’s Web has received this certification.
“Our fans are exactly the kind of customers they are 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,” Garden said.
BREAK: @MLB will be the first major league sports property to have a CBD sponsor.@charlottesweb…
