Real Salt Lake and the Utah Royals unveiled a new long-term partnership with Intermountain Health that will showcase the logo of the firm’s insurance arm, Select Health, on the front of the jerseys for the MLS and NWSL clubs.
It is an eight-year deal with escalators that is worth between $9 million and $10 million annually, according to someone familiar with the negotiations who was not authorized to speak publicly about it. The team would not comment on the financial details.
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“This is so much more than a typical partnership for us,” John Kimball, RSL president, said in a statement announcing the agreement. “As we crafted this collaboration with Intermountain, the words that continually resonated for both organizations were community, mentorship, awareness and wellness.”
The deal comes five months after RSL signed a new stadium naming rights pact with America First Credit Union worth nearly $100 million over 15 years. Salt Lake City is the one of the smallest markets in MLS, but the club now has jersey sponsor and venue naming rights agreements that rank among the top five in the league.
As part of the deal, Intermountain Health will serve as the official medical provider for both RSL and the Royals and provide medical care for players and coaches for both teams and the nearly 70 athletes in the RSL Academy. Intermountain will also have its logo on the jersey sleeve of the MLS and NWSL teams, and Intermountain and Select Health logos will be featured prominently at both America First Field and the Zions Bank Training Center.
“With this partnership, Intermountain Health is working to extend our mission to more people—expanding in ways that help people live the healthiest lives possible,” Rob Allen, Intermountain Health CEO, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to partner with the two most prominent soccer entities in Utah as we continue to focus on improving the health of our residents and communities.”
Intermountain, which is headquartered in Utah, is the state’s largest private employer. It has operations across the western U.S. with 33 hospitals and 385 clinics. Select Health replaces LifeVantage, which had been RSL’s jersey partner since 2010.
Real Salt Lake and the Utah Royals worked with Elevate to secure the marketing partnership.
RSL kicks off its 20th MLS season next week at Inter Miami and its third since David Blitzer bought the club in early 2022, with Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith and Arctos Sports Partners as part of the investment group. Real Salt Lake is the only Western Conference team to make the MLS playoffs each of the past three seasons.
The NWSL season starts in March and will mark the return of the Utah Royals to the league after Blitzer exercised his right to acquire an expansion franchise.
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