CHICAGO – The White Sox will feature a jersey patch sponsor for the first time in franchise history during the 2026 season, with that honor going to CME Group via a multiyear agreement.
CME also will serve as the official global exchange partner for Chicago. The White Sox were one of the last teams to add such a patch after Major League Baseball officially approved the addition beginning with the 2023 season.
When that approval arrived, the White Sox had detailed conversations about what was important to the organization as a partner in this area.
“In a perfect world, you find someone who shares a lot of your same values, a lot of your same corporate values. A commitment to Chicago,” Brooks Boyer, the White Sox executive vice president/chief revenue marketing officer, told MLB.com.
“Being from here, if you are going to go on the White Sox uniform -- which is 125 years old, and no one has been on it before -- you certainly want to have some sort of connection to the city.”
There were opportunities to work with other companies, though those were turned down by the White Sox. They also are coming off three straight seasons with at least 100 losses amid this rebuild, which slowed them down a little bit, per Boyer.
Some White Sox-generated momentum has been built recently, from the 28-37 second half in 2025 spurred by their young core to the addition of free-agent first baseman Munetaka Murakami in December. This offseason then became a good one to have conversations with some of “Chicago’s deepest-rooted companies,” according to Boyer.
From the very first talk Boyer had with Terry Duffy, the CME group chairman and chief executive officer, Duffy quickly realized the value and the brand connection. Duffy was born and raised on the southwest side of Chicago, and he grew up as a Chicago sports fan who gradually turned into primarily a White Sox supporter.
“I always loved baseball, played it as a kid, and my grandfather used to take me to Sox games all the time,” Duffy told MLB.com. “I was a big White Sox guy and still am.
“Being at the event is very exciting in a world that we all watch everything online or streaming. But that’s still one of those events where on a beautiful day or evening, you can go sit there and be entertained.”
Under the terms of the deal, the CME Group logo will be featured on the home, road and alternate jerseys, including the MLB Nike City Connect uniform, for all Spring Training, regular-season and postseason games. In addition to the jersey patch, CME Group receives prominent fixed signage behind home plate during home games at Rate Field, as well as other promotional opportunities.
On the home pinstriped uniform, the blue logo will be set against a white background and black border with CME in black lettering. The road grays will have the blue logo on a matching gray background with CME in black lettering. The MLB Nike City Connect and alternate black jerseys will feature the blue logo on a black background with CME in white lettering.
“My team did a great job putting the patch together. I think it’s going to be really exciting,” Duffy said. “It’s not going to be something that you are going to miss. Yet it’s not something that’s a billboard.
“It flows really well with the multiple different uniforms the White Sox have, so we designed several different things with them. It’s going to be very exciting for a global company like CME to be partnered up with the South Side of Chicago.”
These new-looking uniforms are set to debut for the White Sox when Cactus League action begins on Feb. 20 against Cubs at 2:05 p.m. CT. The team will wear it for the first time in the 2026 regular season during the opener in Milwaukee on March 26 at 1:10 p.m. and again for the home opener against Toronto on April 2 at 3:10 p.m.
MLB requires multiyear deals if an organization does a jersey patch, according to Boyer, but he is hoping this bond with the Chicago-headquartered CME Group extends well past the term of their agreement. The White Sox also hope CME Group has the same good fortune effect as it did when tied to the NHL’s Blackhawks, who sponsored CME bench seats from 2008-19 during three Stanley Cup titles.
“They are a global entity that certainly people will recognize around the world that is deeply rooted in Chicago and shares all the same values that we do,” Boyer said. “This was a really good fit right from the jump.”