Published January 27, 2009 Amway Global has signed a three-year partnership with the MLS Earthquakes starting this season that will see the "company's name on the front of the team jerseys," according to Ben Klayman of REUTERS. In addition to the shirt sponsorship, Amway will also receive signage during home games at Santa Clara Univ.'s Buck Shaw Stadium. Terms of the deal, which marks the 11th shirt sponsorship in MLS, were not disclosed, but sources said that it is in the range of $2-3M annually. Amway Global Managing Dir Steve Lieberman said that the company was "attracted to the large and growing Hispanic population in San Jose, which boasts the fourth largest concentration of Amway's field representatives." The partnership also allows Amway to reintroduce its brand in a "family-friendly atmosphere." Klayman notes the Earthquakes lost $2.2M last season, their first since re-entering MLS, and Earthquakes Owner Lew Wolff said that officials "expect the loss to be cut" to about $1M with the "help of the Amway deal" (REUTERS, 1/27). In addition to signage in the Earthquakes' stadium, Amway also will receive a 30-foot blow-up jersey at the stadium and rights to pass out product information on-site. The Earthquakes will create an "Amway Street Team," which will go out into the community to promote Amway and the Earthquakes. The club, which put the deal together, began talking with Amway in October about a smaller sponsorship that opened the door to the jersey sponsorship. The William Morris Agency was not involved in the negotiations but it is working with the club on issues around the Earthquakes' stadium development in San Jose. Earthquakes Exec VP/Business Operations David Alioto said the deal has no ties to the naming rights around that stadium (Tripp Mickle, SportsBusiness Journal).