Colorado Has A Jersey Sponsor For 7 Seasons

It leaked over the weekend (and I had heard rumors long before that) but today it became official.  UCHealth will be the Colorado Rapids jersey sponsor through the 2029 season.  UCHealth is short for University of Colorado Health, one of the larger health care systems on the Front Range and based in Aroura.   Terms of the deal were not announced but the TransAmerica deal was reportedly for between $2 and $3 million a year ("coincidentally" about the same amount as Tim Howard's salary) and the base for MLS jersey sponsorships is set around $2 million according to talk, so I expect this is likely in the $3 million range.  Its not massive money, but that's still some good investment for a spot we got $0 for in 2022.

As to the jersey itself the logo looks good and I appreciate it being done in the same blue as the trim on the kit.  So many sponsors are stickers for their colors even if they clash with the shirt, causing an ugly look (any number of the gambling site sponsors in the English leagues for example).  This is a good look, equal to the TransAmerica logo and better than the short-lived Ciao! look.

Some fans are a little disappointed that its a smaller local company without a "big" name, but I think that undersells things a bit.  First of all a 7 year deal is some nice stability in an area the club has had no stability in.  You're likely not going to get that from a major sponsor that isn't going to commit to a smaller club like ours for that long.  Secondly, its not a MLM like Herbalife (Galaxy) or LifeVantage (FSL).  Thirdly, just because its a smaller company doesn't mean it can't be beneficial.  Since they started in MLS Orlando City has been sponsored by Orlando Health, pretty much the area's equivalent to UCHealth.  When Orlando entered MLS in 2015 I, unfortunately, was spending some time in Orlando Health facilities with a sick family member.  The Orlando City SC logo was everywhere.  Big logos on the front of buildings, flyers and promotion materials inside the facilities, etc.  They were proud to be sponsoring the team and wanted to promote it.  Hopefully UCHealth will do the same.

In the end this added money removes one more excuse for the club to not spend money this offseason.  We've got a new multi-million dollar sponsorship, we've got $5+ million a season coming in from the Apple TV deal, and we've still got a couple of million in GAM banked from our deals in the last year or so.  If the Rapids Front Office is doing their job it should be a big offseason.