Foul Ball: How oil & gas sponsorships pollute major league sports

September 19, 2024
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Evan George

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres recently called on all countries to ban advertising by fossil fuel companies. He didn’t single out sports teams, but he could have. 

Many major league sports teams in the U.S. have sponsorship deals with some of the companies most responsible for the polluting products fueling climate change. But how many exactly?

This survey of 2024 sponsorships across six major league sports leagues in the U.S. reveals more than 60 recent deals with high-polluting companies. This includes sponsorship deals with oil and gas companies—most of them Big Oil’s household names. It also includes deals with lesser-known utility companies that generate electricity from fossil fuel-burning power plants and sell fossil gas directly to consumers. Not every team plays this way. This survey also highlights some that have chosen a different path.

Download the survey

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