Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY), a global materials science and digital identification solutions company, today announced the extension of its partnership with the San Francisco 49ers. This brings enhanced retail customization capabilities and fan engagement technologies to Levi’s® Stadium.
The multi-year agreement builds on the original digitally-connected merchandise program. It establishes Avery Dennison as the 49ers’ exclusive cutting-edge embellishment and personalization technology partner. The latest evolution of the partnership further leverages Avery Dennison’s industry-leading
“This partnership shows how far fan engagement has come,” says Steve Mason, VP/GM Commercial & Embelex, Avery Dennison. “It used to be about buying a jersey off the rack. Now, with on-demand customization and digital patches, fans can create something personal and interactive. A memento that connects them to a moment, a season, even the community around the team.”
“From the start, the 49ers and Avery Dennison have worked together to deliver an elevated fan experience through innovative retail solutions,” adds Kevin Hilton, VP of Corporate Partnerships at the 49ers. “Together, we’ve leveraged Avery Dennison’s digital capabilities to create impactful business solutions. These benefit our fans, our organization, and our corporate partners. We look forward to expanding those integrations in the future.”
A horizon of excitement for the 49ers and Levi’s® Stadium
The partnership extension arrives at a pivotal moment. Levi’s® Stadium is preparing to host an exciting lineup of global football and soccer events in 2026. These events are set to elevate the stadium’s international profile. Additionally, they offer unparalleled opportunities to engage with fans from around the world.
Over the course of the partnership, Avery Dennison and the 49ers aim to add personalized ball engraving services to the gameday experience. These custom, unique footballs will celebrate fans’ experiences at Levi’s® Stadium. They will highlight history as members of the team’s loyal fanbase.
Additionally, Avery Dennison is leveraging its atma.io connected product cloud platform. This enables the 49ers to transition from traditional brand awareness marketing. A new era of digital connection between the fan, the sponsor, and the team is initiated. It enables deeper engagement, data-driven insights and dynamic brand experiences uniquely tailored to every fan’s journey.
Future-focused innovation pipeline
The move also establishes a framework for continuous innovation, ensuring the program remains at the forefront of sports technology. This includes expansion through existing 49ers sponsors, exploring new possibilities for digitally-enabled experiences. The aim is to extend smart technology beyond traditional merchandise to create even more opportunities for fan engagement.
In addition to its work with the 49ers, Avery Dennison has established an impressive portfolio. They are collaborating with the 2025 championship-winning Philadelphia Eagles, as well as the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. Partnerships also span the NHL and MLB. In addition, include collaborations with leading soccer leagues across the globe, such as the English Premier League, LaLiga, Liga Portugal and MLS. They also partner with Spanish and European powerhouse Real Madrid.
In the time leading up to the NFL draft, when the Browns probably reached a bit into the third round to grab Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, there were several items about his potential that came up in just about every scouting report that emerged from him. He was undersize, of course, but also experienced and a very quick processor. Gabriel was conservative–he did not gamble down the field much–but, as one site wrote, he “throws with reliable accuracy and ball placement.”
To which Browns fans who have watched Gabriel start five games, and anyone who watched the debacle against the Jets in New York in Week 10, would say, “Oh reaaallllly?”
Gabriel threw high in that game. He threw low. He threw wide. In all, he was 17-for-32 against a fairly slap-dash secondary that had just seen its best player, Sauce Gardner, traded away days earlier. In all, Gabriel’s completion percentage sits at 56.8% this season, which ranks 32nd in the NFL.
So, in addition to downfield throws not being his thing, short-yardage accuracy doesn’t seem to be his thing, either. This is why most of the Browns’ press conferences with coach Kevin Stefanski feature reporters asking, in as many veiled ways as possible, “What do the Browns see in this guy?”
Gabriel himself was asked about the accuracy issues this week. He said he hopes to improve, blessedly.
“It’s always something you continue to work on and want to get good at, and I think it’s striving for every inch, you know, and being able to catch runners and allow them to get more receiving yards after the catch,” Gabriel said. “So being accurate in that way and then giving guys a chance. So it’s something that you want to pride yourself on, continue to get better at.”
Asked if there were throws against the Jets he wished he could have back he said, “It’ll always be like that.”
Gabriel was asked, too, what is going on with his misses. Are the Browns seeing anything mechanical with his throws that he could fix. In a way, that might make the difficulty with accuracy more palatable, if there was an obvious hitch that could be fixed and push his completion percentage back up to where it was in college (72.9% last season).
Gabriel said it’s more mental than mechanical, though.
“Not overthinking it, but you just miss,” Gabriel said. “You know, sometimes you miss and you want to eliminate as many as you can. And definitely when you know you lose, it’s magnifying. And I think you’re always going to continue to work on that and that’s something you want to pride yourself on – which is making the throws.”
It was a topic that Stefanski, too, was peppered on. But the Browns coach had no more satisfying answers than Gabriel did. The rookie quarterback missed throws, Stefanski said, because quarterbacks miss throws.
“Any quarterback, young and old – you’re going to miss throws,” he said. “It’s an occupational hazard that you’re likely not going to go 100% completion percentage. It’s an occupational hazard that a corner is going to get beat deep every once in a while. So, you’re not going to make every throw.”