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Minor League Baseball and New Era Cap Co., Inc. have agreed to extend their partnership designating New Era as the Official Cap and Official Batting Practice Cap of Minor League Baseball through 2016. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The current partnership was set to expire at the end of this year.
New Era has been a licensee since Minor League Baseball instituted a licensing program in 1991. The Buffalo, N.Y., based company has been the Official Cap of Minor League Baseball since 1995, and the Official Batting Practice Cap of Minor League Baseball since 2005. New Era was founded in 1920 and has been providing caps to Major League and Minor League Baseball clubs since the 1930s.
“New Era has been one of our most valued partners for a long time and we are extremely pleased to be extending our on-field headwear agreement with them,” said Minor League Baseball President Pat O’Conner (see the 2008 Biz of Baseball interview with O'Conner).
”Continuing our partnership with Minor League Baseball makes sense as baseball is the backbone of our brand,” said Pete Augustine, President of New Era Cap. “New Era is excited that minor leaguers will have the chance to wear our products as they embark on their journey to the major leagues.”
“We are both committed to providing the highest quality products to our players and fans, so it’s a natural fit,” remarked MiLB Director of Licensing Tina Gust. “The New Era brand and the 59FIFTY cap have become synonymous with baseball.”
Headwear sales have accounted for nearly one-third of the nearly $50 million that Minor League Baseball has averaged in retail merchandise sales over the last three years.
Source: Minor League Baseball
 Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey, as well as a contributor to FanGraphs and Forbes SportsMoney. He is available for hire or freelance. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.
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