Giving the shirt off of their Premier backs

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No matter that the Washington Redskins beat the Cowboys last weekend -- and danced on their blue star to boot. Cowboys fans still view their squad as America’s Team. But a good argument can be made that Manchester United of the Premier League also can be viewed as an American Team, and not only because the club is owned by an American.

In September, the Federal Reserve advanced AIG $75 billion to keep the massive insurance and financial services company from cratering during the ongoing global financial crisis. In return, U.S. taxpayers received a majority interest in the company that claims $1 trillion in assets.

The first thing some of AIG’s new citizen/owners might want to do is retrieve whatever remains of the $100 million that AIG promised to pay the soccer club to rent space for the AIG name on Man U jerseys. So far, club officials say that Uncle Sam hasn’t come looking for his -- our? -- money.

Sports naming rights deals always carry a risk -- think Enron, Adelphia, TWA and PSINet. And there will be more signs to be changed as the global financial crisis reduces the number of free-standing financial institutions.

J.P. Morgan Chase is acquiring assets of the troubled Washington Mutual, which paid to have its name attached to a theater at New York’s Madison Square Garden. And Wells Fargo’s surprise bid to purchase Wachovia (after CitiCorp seemingly had struck a deal) raises questions about the future of the Wachovia Complex in Philadelphia, home to a half dozen sports teams, including the NHL Flyers and the NBA 76ers.

There is one way for professional sports teams to insulate themselves from having to change the signs after the corporate sponsor goes bankrupt or gets taken over. But it is an expensive proposition given the mad scramble to generate additional revenue.

Aston Villa (owned by U.S. businessman Randy Lerner) of the Premier League (which itself is sponsored by financial services giant Barclays) has turned over valuable real estate on its jerseys to Acorns, a hospice for children who require around-the-clock medical care. Acorns also gives ‘practical and emotional support’ to family members.

-- Greg Johnson

Editor’s note: Updated at 8:35 a.m. with news of Wells Fargo’s bid for Wachovia. Updated at 10:11 to correct Premier League title).