On February 20, 2026, PepsiCo and Major League Baseball (MLB) announced a significant extension of their long-standing partnership, elevating Mountain Dew Baja Blast to the role of Official Soft Drink and renewing Gatorade’s legendary 36-year tenure as the league’s Official Sports Drink.
The announcement was ceremonially marked by executives from both organizations ringing the Opening Bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square to signal the start of Spring Training.
Key Sponsorship Highlights
The 2026 strategy marks a shift in MLB’s marketing approach, moving toward “lifestyle” and flavor-centric beverages to capture younger, multicultural demographics.
- Mountain Dew Baja Blast (Official Soft Drink): This teal-colored, tropical lime beverage ends a six-year vacancy in MLB’s carbonated soft drink category. It is the first time a non-cola brand has served as the league’s lead soda partner.
- Gatorade (Official Sports Drink): Extending a relationship that began in 1990, Gatorade remains one of the longest-running corporate sponsorships in professional sports history.
- The “Get a Baja for a Blast” Promotion: A season-long loyalty initiative will reward fans for “blasts” (home runs). Rewards will scale based on the distance of the hit, with extra incentives during “jewel” events like the All-Star Game and the World Series.
Capturing the Youth Momentum
The deal is strategically timed to capitalize on MLB’s explosive 2025 growth:
- Viewership Surge: The 2025 campaign saw double-digit viewership increases, specifically a 32% jump among youth (under-17) and a 27% increase among young adults (18-34).
- Cultural Alignment: PepsiCo specifically cited Baja Blast’s popularity among Gen Z and Hispanic consumers—key growth areas for MLB following rule changes that accelerated the pace of play.
MLB’s New Media Rights Era (2026–2028)
The PepsiCo renewal coincides with the first year of a transformative three-year media rights cycle.
| Partner | Key Rights for 2026 |
| Netflix | Opening Night (March 25: NYY vs. SFG), T-Mobile Home Run Derby, and the Field of Dreams Game. |
| NBCUniversal | Sunday Night Baseball, Sunday Leadoff (18 morning games), and the entire Wild Card Round. |
| ESPN | National midweek game package and exclusive distribution of MLB.TV. |
| Fox & TBS | Unchanged agreements for the World Series (Fox) and League Championship Series (TBS). |