Mobile network to pay annual US$3 million to replace Safeco as MLB team partner. Getty Images T-Mobile has taken the naming rights to the Seattle Mariners’ Safeco Field, according to Forbes. The business outlet reports that the deal was initially rumoured to be worth US$6 million per year, but other sources have now indicated that the mobile network will pay an annual US$3 million to replace insurance firm Safeco as a top-tier partner of the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. The length and total value of the contract are yet to be confirmed, but the deal cannot be finalised and officially announced until the lease for the 48,000-seater venue has been renewed. "Until we have a final lease agreement, we won’t be able to have a final agreement with a naming rights partner," confirmed Rebecca Hale, public information officer for the Mariners. Hale added that she expects a new 25-year lease agreement between the Mariners and the Washington State Major League Baseball Stadium Public Facilities District to be completed by the end of this year. The Mariners announced in 2017 that Safeco would not be renewing its US$40 million naming rights deal for the ballpark past the recently concluded 2018 season. The company partnered with the franchise in 1998 and has benefitted from extensive signage at the venue since it opened in 1999. If confirmed, the deal would see T-Mobile add its name to its hometown baseball field. The company responded to the reports in an official statement saying: “We’re always looking for ways to show our hometown love but we don’t have any news to share at this time.”
T-Mobile is reportedly set to replace insurance company Safeco as a top-tier partner of Major League Baseball (MLB), and will take the naming rights to the Seattle Mariners’ Safeco Field. The deal was first reported by Deadspin on Monday.