Feastables became the Charlotte Hornets' official jersey patch partner on Oct. 2, 2023, making MrBeast's snack brand the first creator-led company to sponsor an NBA team's jersey. The deal ran for the 2023-24 season, and the Hornets later signed Judi Health for 2025. For PR and marketing teams, it is a pioneering case in how creator brands can use pro sports to reach new fans.
Updated Nov 11, 2026
Summary
- The Hornets announced Feastables as jersey patch partner on Oct. 2, 2023.
- It was billed as the first influencer partnership of its kind with an NBA franchise.
- The package included uniforms, media backdrops, sister teams and digital content.
- Feastables left after one season, and Axios reported the reason is not clear.
- The case gives brands a template for testing creator and sports partnerships.
Table of contents
- What was the Feastables Hornets jersey patch deal?
- Why did a snack brand matter to the NBA?
- What did each side get from the partnership?
- Why does the partnership still matter?
- How did the partnership end?
- What can PR and marketing teams learn from it?
- How does it fit the wider creator-brand story?
- Frequently asked questions
What was the Feastables Hornets jersey patch deal?
It was a multi-asset sponsorship that put the Feastables logo on Charlotte Hornets game uniforms for the 2023-24 NBA season. The NBA lets teams sell one small patch on the upper chest of a jersey, and Charlotte used its patch to bring a creator-founded snack company into the league. Axios reported on the announcement that terms, including the length of the deal, were not disclosed.
The Hornets had just come through a change of ownership. According to Axios, Michael Jordan sold his majority stake to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall in June 2023, and the new group wanted creative partnerships. Hornets chief revenue officer Jacob Gallagher said the ownership group had pushed the team to set new standards for what partnerships should look like.
Why did a snack brand matter to the NBA?
It mattered because Feastables is a creator-led brand, and no creator-led company had landed this kind of placement before. Front Office Sports described Feastables as the first creator-led brand to win a jersey sponsorship in the four major U.S. leagues, and USA Today's coverage called the deal an NBA first.
The story also had a strong local angle. MrBeast, whose name is Jimmy Donaldson, is a North Carolina native, and he wrote on social media that it made sense for Feastables' first sponsorship to be with his home team. Feastables had been launched in 2022 through a partnership between MrBeast and the venture arm of the talent management company Night Media, whose founder Reed Duchscher said the campaign was a step outside the box for a brand that had mostly been marketed on YouTube and social media.
The announcement doubled as a brand moment. Feastables used it to introduce an updated brand design, which was set to appear on new products on shelves. That gave the partnership news value for sports, business and consumer media at the same time.
What did each side get from the partnership?
Each side gained reach with an audience it did not already own. The Hornets wanted to introduce MrBeast's fans to the team, and Feastables wanted to introduce itself to NBA fans. The table below summarizes the package as reported at launch.
| Asset | What was reported | Why it helped |
|---|
| Jersey patch | Feastables logo on Hornets uniforms for 2023-24 | Daily visibility on game broadcasts and highlights |
| Sister teams | Logo also on the Greensboro Swarm and Hornets Venom GT, including virtual uniforms | Extended reach into G League and esports audiences |
| Media backdrops | Feastables branding behind press conferences and interviews | Repeated exposure in team content and coverage |
| Digital content | Planned collaboration on digital media and marketing | Access to creator-style storytelling |
| Retail | Patched jerseys sold through the Hornets Fan Shop and its website | A collectible product tied to the launch |
The deal replaced LendingTree, which had been the Hornets' patch sponsor since 2017. Axios reported that LendingTree's sponsorship was extended for three years in 2020 and was worth a reported $5 million a year. SportBusiness Sponsorship later reported that the Feastables deal did not lift the team's rights fee.
Why does the partnership still matter?
It matters because it showed what a creator-led sponsorship can look like when a team and a brand both commit to experimenting. Teams had long sold patches to banks, health companies and software firms. A snack brand tied to the world's most-followed YouTube creator brought a different audience, a different tone and a different kind of press coverage to the same small square of fabric.
It also gave later partners a reference point. Any creator brand pitching a league or team can now point to a real precedent, with a clear package, a launch date and a public result. Any team can point to the same precedent when it explains why it is open to new categories of sponsor. For communications leaders, the lasting value is the playbook: announce with a story, build a package with several assets, and keep the audience of each partner in view.
Finally, the case shows why measurement matters in creator and sports deals. Reach on game nights, social engagement, fan shop sales and press coverage each tell part of the story. Teams that agree on those measures at the start can judge a partnership fairly, whether it lasts one season or several.
How did the partnership end?
Feastables ended the patch partnership after one season. The Hornets confirmed in July 2024 that the patch would come off, and the team went through the following season without a patch sponsor. In September 2025, the Hornets announced a multi-year deal with Judi Health, formerly Capital Rx, as the new patch partner, and Axios' September 2025 report noted that it is not clear why the Feastables deal ended after one season.
No public statement explains the change, so the most useful reading is a practical one. Terms were private, and a single season is a short window for a new kind of partnership. The deal still proved that a creator-led brand can win a place on one of sport's most visible pieces of real estate, and that the NBA and its teams will take creator partnerships seriously.
What can PR and marketing teams learn from it?
The case offers a clear checklist for any brand weighing a creator and sports partnership. Use these steps when planning one.
- Pair a news hook with a product moment. Feastables launched a new design on the same day, which gave reporters two stories at once.
- Use a local story. MrBeast's North Carolina roots gave the Hornets and Feastables an authentic reason to work together.
- Build the package beyond the patch. Backdrops, sister teams and digital content gave the logo more places to appear than a patch alone.
- Agree on multi-season goals. A creator brand and a team need time to learn how each audience responds, so define what success looks like across more than one season.
- Plan for the exit. Agree in advance how and when each side will communicate if the partnership changes, so the message stays calm and consistent.
How does it fit the wider creator-brand story?
The Hornets deal sits within a larger shift in which creators build companies, not only audiences. Our Beast Industries case study explains how MrBeast's businesses fit together, and our guide to how creators become operators shows the playbook other creators have followed. For the corporate structures behind these brands, see The Creator Holding Company Index.
How much is an NBA jersey patch worth?
Public figures vary by market. Axios cited the Charlotte Business Journal reporting that patch deals in markets like Charlotte range from about $3.5 million to $9 million a year. Feastables' own terms were not disclosed, so treat any single number for that deal as unconfirmed.
