CLEVELAND — Cleveland’s new WNBA franchise still has years before its first tip-off in May 2028, but the organization is wasting no time laying the groundwork for its arrival.
The team announced Tuesday that Progressive Insurance will serve as its jersey patch sponsor — and in a league first, the company has purchased both available patch locations on the uniform. WNBA teams are permitted to sell advertising space in the upper left corner of their jerseys, as well as a larger patch positioned beneath the numbers on the front. No team in the league had previously sold both spots to a single sponsor.
For historical context, the Phoenix Mercury became the first WNBA team to carry a jersey sponsor back in 2009.
Progressive’s chief marketing officer, Mari Pumarejo, explained what drew the company to the partnership. “We have a smaller partnership with Chicago that we announced a couple months ago, but this one was special to us,” she said. “Once we heard that the WNBA was going to bring a team to Cleveland, it was a good fit for us and we kept our ears open for an opportunity to learn more about it. And once we met (president of business operations) Allison (Howard) and the team, we just knew that our values matched and that we could have the kind of partnership where we could help support women’s sports, the community and city.”
The connection between Progressive and Cleveland runs deep. The insurance giant is headquartered in the city, with its corporate offices located in the nearby suburb of Mayfield Heights, Ohio. The company has also held the naming rights to Cleveland’s baseball stadium since 2008.
Progressive CEO Tricia Griffith is additionally an investor in the Cleveland Astra, a women’s soccer team also expected to begin play in 2028.
Cleveland was officially granted the WNBA expansion franchise on June 30, 2025. The city has a storied history with the league — the Cleveland Rockers were among the original franchises when the WNBA launched in 1997, though the team folded in 2003.
Community enthusiasm has been strong, with 9,000 deposits placed for season tickets over the past year.
President of business operations Allison Howard spoke about the team’s approach to building its identity. “It has continued to grow. We were going to fully stand up the team until closer to about two years out, but we started to listen to the community right away and they wanted to know more and more of how we were going to treat this team,” she said. “We are definitely taking our time to make sure that we’re doing it right. But we’re excited to continue to take the feedback from people and be able to participate and do a lot of listening.”
Tuesday’s jersey sponsor announcement is expected to be the first in a series of major reveals over the next year. The team’s official name is anticipated to be unveiled within the next few months. The team’s owner, Dan Gilbert’s Rock Entertainment Group, has also announced “a special event” scheduled for August 4 at Rocket Arena.
Howard reflected on what the franchise’s extended runway has allowed the organization to accomplish. “I give so much credit to the teams around the league that have not had two to three years because what we have been able to do is go on a listening tour and meet all of these new people and really hear their stories. And one thing in women’s sports is it is very emotional for a lot of people,” she said. “People come up to me and will tell me a story of having to drive or having to fly hours away to the closest women’s basketball game, even if it was college and how hard it has been to be a fan.”
