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Timbers owner Merritt Paulson strolls with Timber Joey and the designers of the new Alaska Airlines airplane design when the Portland Timbers-themed airplane was introduced.

(Bruce Ely / The Oregonian)

The Portland Timbers announced Monday the club has renewed its jersey sponsorship with Alaska Airlines.

The Seattle-based airline has been the jersey sponsor since the Timbers' inaugural Major League Soccer season in 2011, allowing the company to have its logo emblazoned on the front of the team's jersey.

The renewal comes at a time of healthy growth not only for the Timbers but all of MLS, coming on the heels of record World Cup television viewership and increased MLS attendance. One wrinkle of the Timbers and Alaska Airlines' pact even offers a hint at the potential for continued growth of the team and the league.

"This is our premier sponsorship in the Portland community," said Joe Sprague, Alaska Airlines senior vice president of communications and external relations. "The Timbers have done a lot of things really well in terms of driving this passionate fan base. That's been recognized nationally."

News of the sponsorship renewal was first delivered Monday afternoon to Alaska Airlines' 1,900 employees who work in Portland. The company, which also owns Horizon Air, has about 13,000 employees in total.

Sprague said the Timbers jersey sponsorship is "in some respects" the most important in the company's sports-related marketing portfolio, which also includes serving as official airline of the Seattle Mariners and naming rights sponsor for Alaska Airlines Arena at the University of Washington's Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

Alaska will continue to serve as the Timbers' official airline as well as keep a Timbers-themed jet in its fleet. The club-themed plane was unveiled in 2011 with a design inspired by two Timbers fans through a paint-the-plane contest.

And the airline will continue allowing year-round early boarding from Portland International Airport to fans wearing Timbers jerseys. The airline will continue to fly the popular Timbers Jet throughout its route network.

Alaska and Timbers officials would not discuss financial terms of the deal. The jersey sponsorship is considered among the top two of the Timbers sponsorship deals, along with Providence Health Systems' naming of Providence Field. The terms of that sponsorship have not been made public either.

Soccer blogs have said the previous Timbers-Alaska Airlines deal called for a $3 million annual payment, making it the sixth-largest of all MLS jersey deals. Vitamin manufacturer Herbalife is believed to be the largest, at $4.4 million a year for the Los Angeles Galaxy.

By comparison, that's a fraction paid for jersey deals with the world's best-known soccer clubs: $37.3 million a year from Deutsche Telekom for Bayern Munich; $29.39 million a year from online betting house Bwin for Real Madrid; and $20.31 million a year from airline Emirates for AC Milan.

This time around, though, the Timbers' jersey deal may last only two years.

"We both wanted to build in flexibility," said Mike Golub, Timbers president of business operations, "to have sort of a midterm review, if you will."

A similar mid-term review with the expired deal likely would have worked in the Timbers' favor.

Sprague acknowledged Alaska Airlines entered into its original deal with the Timbers "not knowing what to expect."

The partnership exceeded expectations, he said, noting the Portland team is among the top five in the league for frequency on national television broadcasts.

"This local interest ends up driving national interest," Sprague said. "Major League Soccer likes it when they show Portland Timbers' home matches."

Said Golub: "It's been a great deal for both of us. We were an unknown quantity. The fact we're shaking hands again for another four years is testament to both partners feeling positive about what's ahead."

-- Allan Brettman