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The Nationals today made a historic announcement for the franchise, introducing AARP as the team’s inaugural jersey patch sponsor and an official community impact partner.
With media, members of the Nats front office and executives from AARP gathered in the Terra Club at Nationals Park, franchise legend Ryan Zimmerman helped announce the partnership alongside Nationals vice president of corporate partnerships Matt Lemire and AARP chief digital officer Sami Hassanyeh.
The AARP logo will appear on all team jerseys during the regular season, postseason and spring training, making its on-field debut tomorrow, July 1, when the Nationals start a six-game homestand with an opening matchup against the Tigers at 6:45 p.m. In addition to the jersey patch sponsorship, the partnership also includes community activities and activations at Nationals Park.
“When looking for our inaugural jersey patch sponsor, it was important for us to work with an organization that aligns with our values, one that embraces not just the ‘Next Gen Natitude’ on the field and in the clubhouse, but also brings together all generations of Nationals fans,” chief operating officer of Lerner Sports Group Alan Gottlieb said in a statement. “Whether you remember bringing your kids or grandkids to our inaugural season in 2005, or you’re bringing your family to the ballpark for the first time this year, this partnership is exciting for fans of all ages, and we’re proud to welcome AARP to the Nationals family for years to come.”
“Baseball is more than a game — it’s a tradition that connects us across generations,” AARP CEO Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan said in a statement. “This community-based partnership with the Nationals, and seeing the AARP logo on the Nationals’ jerseys, are powerful reminders of the memories we create with the people we love, from attending a first game with a parent to building a future with the next generation. We’re proud to team up with the Nationals to celebrate those connections here in Washington and on the road in every community across the country.”
Beyond the jersey patch, the collaboration is a symbol of the two Washington, D.C.-based organizations’ shared commitment to the community. The partnership amplifies AARP’s key pillars of health, wealth and self through a series of initiatives, including the Nationals’ participation in AARP’s Wish of a Lifetime program. The club will help fulfill wishes for older adults by granting exclusive access and experiences across our shared community, while also using the partnership to support and educate fans of all ages with fraud prevention tools, brain health resources, special content and more.
“We'll be celebrating every Nats stolen base with a public service message highlighting AARP's fraud prevention tools,” said Hassanyeh. “Stolen bases are great, but stolen identities are not.”
Through this multifaceted partnership, a multi-generational Nationals fan base can also look forward to special on-site activations, a dedicated AARP night at the ballpark, player and mascot appearances, and more. On-field and in-park signage, as well as digital and social content, will remind Nationals fans and baseball fans everywhere that AARP is “on your team and in your community,” while AARP members will have the chance to enjoy special benefits like early ballpark access, reserved parking spaces and seat upgrades into the PNC Diamond Club at every home game.
“We're thrilled. We really are thrilled to be here today,” said Hassanyeh. “This collaboration between AARP and the Washington Nationals is about celebrating the multi-generational world of baseball. Baseball lives in family values, whether you play catch in your backyard with your dad, hearing stories about great games for grandparents, catching your first game or learning how to keep score, we see that kind of love in ballparks and grandstands every single day. That same spirit is at the heart of what we're doing here today with the Washington Nationals. …. We're happy to be here, we truly are. Not only to be sponsoring the Nationals' jersey patch, but it's much more than that. It's about being the community impact partner. The Nationals' commitment for all generations is why this moment is so important.”
The Nationals will wear two different versions of the AARP logo jersey patch during the season – a special red patch on the home white jerseys, and a white patch with red lettering on the remaining four jersey designs (red and blue alternates, gray road and the second edition of the team’s City Connect).
“For us, it's been something that we were searching for the right partner for a decent amount of time,” said Lemire. “We worked with Excel Sports Management, and I think what it came down to was once we started having those conversations with the team at AARP, it's a local company, it has a truly valuable mission and they're focused on the community. All of those things really lined up with what we are as an organization. And the more and more we had those conversations, the more and more we knew that this was the right opportunity, and this was the opportunity that we wanted to move forward with. And I think our teams got in a room and just said, 'How do we find a way to make this work?'”
Before today’s announcement, the Nats were the only team in Major League Baseball with neither a jersey patch sponsorship nor a stadium naming rights partner, leaving them without two major sources of revenue to bring in money for the club to use on roster construction.
After a decade of being one of the sport’s highest spenders leading to the 2019 World Series championship, the Nationals currently have the fifth-lowest payroll in MLB, with $115,500,698 in total allocations and just $59,984,094 owed the active roster, per Spotrac. First baseman Nathaniel Lowe is the highest-paid player on the roster this year with a salary of $10.3 million.
Financial details of the multi-year agreement with AARP were not made available, but Lemire confirmed the organization will now look to find a stadium naming rights partner for Nationals Park.
“I think we're very excited about today to be here with AARP and announce the inaugural jersey patch partnership,” he said. “I think the naming rights is the next opportunity that we’ll work with Excel Sports Management on and focus on that. That's pretty much where we are at the moment. We know that it's something that we need to work through. But again, it's about finding that right partner. We're not just going to say that, 'OK, you can go ahead and name this building.' It has to make sense for us as an organization. It has to make sense for us as a market. It has to make sense for us as a community. So those opportunities, they take time to find.”
Excel Sports Management’s Properties division led the search for the Nationals’ first-ever jersey patch sponsor and facilitated discussions between the team and AARP.
AARP is the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to the more than 100 million Americans 50-plus and their families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment.
* In baseball news, right-handers Travis Sykora and Marquis Grissom Jr. were the Nats' prospects selected to this year's Futures Game ahead of All-Star Week in Atlanta.
Sykora, the Nats’ top prospect and No. 54 overall per MLB Pipeline, is 3-1 with a 1.83 ERA, 0.767 WHIP and 15.4 strikeouts per nine innings across 11 starts between the Florida Complex League Nationals, Single-A Fredericksburg, High-A Wilmington and Double-A Harrisburg. The 21-year-old made his Double-A debut Sunday in Akron, giving up four runs on four hits and five walks with five strikeouts in 3 ⅔ innings.
Grissom, the Nats’ No. 21 prospect per MLB Pipeline, is 1-1 with a 4.70 ERA, 1.533 WHIP and 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings in 27 appearances between Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester.
The 2025 All-Star Futures Game will be played at 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 12, at Truist Park. It will air live on MLB Network and will be simulcast on MLB.TV, MLB.com and via the MLB app.
