Terry Lefton

Veteran sports business reporter Terry Lefton has worked for years building high-level industry contacts and sources, which pays off when it comes to breaking exclusive news on sponsorship, licensing, advertising and marketing deals. Before joining Sports Business Journal, Lefton covered the sports marketing and media segment for Brandweek and the Industry Standard. BEATS: Sports sponsorship, sports marketing/advertising

MLB links up with Ace Hardware to fill long-vacant sponsorship category

Ace Hardware is MLB’s newest sponsor, filling the home improvement/hardware retail category that’s been vacant for around a quarter century.

SBJ Marketing: UFC sponsors take their talents to South Beach

SBJ Marketing: UFC sponsors take their talents to South Beach

UFC 314 has TurboTax, A-B as dual presenting sponsors, while Papa John’s gets first taste of the octagon

A variety of sponsors are finalizing activation plans for UFC 314 this Saturday at Miami’s Kaseya Center, including three separate QSR brands.

Atlantic League adds QR codes to baseballs; how long before other leagues catch on?

The allure of catching a foul ball at a baseball game is universal and enduring; so much so that High Point (N.C.) Rockers President Peter Fisch still has a ball he snagged at an Eastern League game more than 50 years ago.

SBJ Marketing: Ultimate Frisbee Association catches biggest deal yet

SBJ Marketing: Ultimate Frisbee Association catches biggest deal yet

Steve Phelps the latest NFL Properties alum to rise to commissioner role

With Steve Phelps’ elevation to NASCAR commissioner this week, the promotion means three commissioners have now emerged from the NFL Properties executive group of the 1980s and 1990s. You can probably win a beer or two by posing that as a tavern trivia question.

Ultimate Frisbee Association signs Pabst Brewing for league’s biggest deal yet

There’s no mistaking the Ultimate Frisbee Association with the NBA or NFL. Still, when the top-tier pro league in any sport completes its biggest sponsorship deal, that’s notable.

Eagles add Two Robbers to sponsor roster

The Eagles have added Two Robbers to their expanding roster of alcoholic beverage sponsors.

Jets offer extensive buyouts, seeking culture change

Approximately 170 of the N.Y. Jets’ 250 employees must decide today whether to accept a buyout offer issued earlier this month, a deal that would give the most senior employees more than 18 months of full salary and health insurance if they leave.

Cubs sign Yeti as title sponsor for premium outdoor space

Yeti has signed as title sponsor of the Cubs new premium outdoor hospitality space in the Wrigley Field bleachers, henceforth to be known as “The Yeti Yard.”