Wildly popular YouTuber MrBeast has snagged one of his biggest partnerships to date: a jersey patch for his food brand, Feastables, on the jersey of the Charlotte Hornets.
The North Carolina-based team announced the partnership with a graphic of the team’s jersey shaped like a chocolate bar. The partnership appears to be running for one year, during the upcoming 2023-2024 season. It’s the first deal of its kind between an influencer-lead brand and an NBA franchise.
This isn’t a normal esports partnership with a gaming hardware company. Jersey patches are big-money deals, and this one could easily be in the seven-figure area. Additionally, this opens up opportunities for MrBeast to market the brand, and its product, in the Hornets’ stadium, the Spectrum Center. Make no mistake: If MrBeast wasn’t squarely in the cultural zeitgeist before, this deal certainly places him there now.
If you’re wondering “why the Hornets, they aren’t a huge market basketball team,” consider that MrBeast described them as his “hometown team,” and also look at the infrastructure of North Carolina itself. Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, has its headquarters in Cary, North Carolina. Insomniac Games and Red Storm Entertainment, known for Spider-Man (2018) and the Far Cry series, respectively, also have a big presence in NC. Majors in Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Rainbow Six: Siege have been held in Charlotte and Raleigh. The state also implemented a tax incentive for esports events to draw more young, tech-savvy people into its borders.
MrBeast needs no introduction to young readers. His videos are viewed by millions, and everything he does makes headlines across news outlets, from his millions of dollars in giveaways to plans to purchase an LCS franchise spot.
Details about what, exactly, the partnership will entail and the exact financial value of the deal have not been disclosed.
