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Given the week we’ve had with the US MNT, the barometer is devoted to a single story that has garnered little attention. Within the topic of MLS financial growth, it usually doesn’t take long for the conversation to come around to jersey sponsors, something hideously commercial unless you’re a soccer fan, for whom this kind of thing is beyond normal. What I want to highlight this week is not the fact that there are jersey sponsors in MLS, but who those sponsors are.

Like most others, I didn’t give it much thought when Herbalife signed up with the Galaxy, but luckily the beautifully cerebral David Keyes over at Culture of Soccer saw something else besides dollar signs. Turns out, besides Toronto FC’s deal with the Bank of Montreal, the companies presiding over the jerseys thus far have a few things in common. One, you can ingest all of them. And two, well, that may not be something you want to do.

With most of the attention on MLS focused on the product on the field, should we be worried (you know, for the kids’ sake) what products are on the jerseys? Is this a take-what-we-can-get scenario, or should MLS be expecting a little more, I don’t know, morality, or at least legality, from its sponsors? I mean, XanGo, Herbalife, Red Bull? I’m sure Anna Nicole Smith would have approved, but she’s not exactly the gold standard for healthy ingestion.

The Less-Than-Reputable MLS Uniform Sponsors [Culture of Soccer]