Chicago Cubs fans react to latest major uniform change

Given the shift in Major League Baseball in recent seasons in terms of sponsored patches on uniforms, it seemed inevitable that the Chicago Cubs would eventually have uniform sponsor.

The time has arrived as the Cubs announced a multi-year agreement with Motorola. Beginning with their home series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field on Thursday, the Cubs will have a Motorola jersey patch on all of their jerseys.

Admittedly, the timing of this sponsorship was not ideal for the Cubs. The Cubs are fresh off a Major League Baseball Trade Deadline period where it became clear that the team had shifted their focus from trying to return to contention in 2024 to contending in 2025.

What becomes increasingly annoying with Cubs fans and how often they have to see these announcements is that the team has not spent like they were operating in the third-largest market in Major League Baseball. Both the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers have jersey patch partners, but that becomes an easier pill for those respective fanbases to swallow, considering each team is littered with superstar players such as Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani, and Mookie Betts.

Meanwhile, the Cubs have treated the first tier of MLB's luxury tax threshold as if it were a salary cap that they could not pass. Needless to say, there will be more questions to be answered this offseason if the Cubs go another winter without entering the luxury tax when the expectation is to contend.

Whenever there are changes to the Cubs' uniforms, it often is met with resistance from the fanbase. Given that this is an organization that has not reached the postseason since 2020, changes like the one that the Cubs announced on Thursday lend credence to the idea that the business side takes precedence over the baseball side.

The 2024 season has been filled with nothing but gut punches for Cubs fans as despite the public awareness that the roster was flawed, there was no urgency from Jed Hoyer to make changes. While the introduction of the jersey patch could have been far worse, the optics are not good considering the Cubs are currently in last place in the National League Central division.