Ohio-based Progressive Insurance will be the sole jersey patch sponsor of Cleveland’s impending WNBA franchise, in a rare deal that will place Progressive branding on both the chest and abdomen of the uniform once the team arrives in the spring of 2028.
The company also becomes the team’s second founding partner, following KeyBank’s initial sponsorship deal last week. As part of the multiyear agreement -- which began with a cup of coffee and escalated after a whimsical recruiting pitch inside Rocket Arena -- Progressive also becomes the franchise’s exclusive insurance partner with plans to collaborate on annual community initiatives.
“We had coffee early spring ... and I walked to my car after that and sat,” said Allison Howard, the team’s president of business operations, in reference to her first face-to-face meeting with Progressive CMO Mari Pumarejo. “I have been fortunate after working in sports for a couple of decades to recognize when I’ve just been a part of something I know is going to be big… And I just said to myself, ‘This is going to be something.’”
Progressive’s early interest in the W was layered and intentional. Company CEO Tricia Griffith had already personally invested in the Cleveland Astra of the Women’s Premier Soccer League Pro, which launches in March 2028, and was equally intrigued when Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert landed his WNBA franchise.
That led Pumarejo to connect with Howard, and -- considering Progressive already had naming rights for the Guardians stadium downtown -- one of the first equations was whether the MLB and WNBA audiences overlapped, which could have made a deal gratuitous. But Howard shared that 70% of their initial 9,000 season-ticket deposits were customers with no connections to Gilbert’s men’s teams (the Cavaliers, G League Charge and AHL Monsters).
“They have a great partnership across the street with MLB, with the Guardians, but this is a whole new fan base,” Howard said. “And fans of women’s sports consume very, very differently than fans of men’s sports.”
Because Progressive had never done a sponsorship with any of Gilbert’s teams, the next move was to invite Pumarejo to Rocket Arena for a get-to-know-you tour. “We knew in order to impress her and the team, we were really going to have to hit a half-court shot, so to speak,” Howard said.
So Little did Pumarejo know, she was about to walk into a show instead of a pitch. What she witnessed was Progressive signage lighting up the in-arena bowl –- a glimpse into the 2028 future -- followed by a make-believe scene of Progressive being selected by Cleveland in a mock WNBA draft. All with about 200 Cavaliers staffers applauding.
“I had to contain myself because we’re insurance people,” Pumarejo said. “So we always make sure that we are even keeled and we’re looking at data. But it was so fun. I wanted to grab resumés from everyone who took part in thinking about this.”
Once they moved into a conference room, the deal took even more of a left turn.
“We knew that they were interested in the abdomen jersey position, and so that’s what we were going for,” Howard said. “…And I give Mari the credit. She looks at me and says, ‘Well, what about both?’
“I laughed because I really thought she was joking. And I look at her, she’s got a great smile on her face, but I could see this was not a joke. So I said, ‘Yeah, we can explore that.’ And on the side I’m texting the WNBA and, ‘Can we even do this? Has this ever been done before? Would you even allow this?’ And really then it really just blossomed from there and it went very quickly.”
According to Cleveland’s WNBA front office, no company has had multiyear chest and abdomen branding on the same WNBA jersey -- two spots at once. While Howard did not provide financial details, she said her office had nine other companies inquire about the second jersey patch spot but never wavered about Progressive doubling down.
“We’re still actually a year away from releasing the jersey with Nike, obviously,” Howard said. “And so it does give our teams a good opportunity to really develop behind the scenes what is going to be the best jersey in the WNBA and do a lot of storytelling around that. And on top of being an upstanding brand and company and insurance provider, [Progressive is] very creative and great storytellers, too.”
In addition to the jersey deal, both sides plan to execute yearly community impact initiatives, considering Progressive has been in the Cleveland market for almost 90 years. In Year One, Progressive and Cleveland’s WNBA front office will collaborate to help transitional housing organizations throughout Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and Western New York. Progressive will also get the annual opportunity to be a presenting partner on a theme and giveaway night.
