NEW YORK — Most endorsement deals take months of negotiation, careful brand alignment studies, and a marketing team that earns its retainer. This one essentially wrote itself. A New York Yankees first baseman announced a new partnership on Monday, and the moment the company’s name appeared alongside his own, the sports world stopped and laughed in the best possible way.
The name match that was always inevitable
Ben Rice, the Yankees’ breakout first baseman and backup catcher, has signed an endorsement deal with Ben’s Original, the Mars-owned rice brand known for its flavored microwavable pouches and a decades-long place in American pantries.
Ben Rice. Ben’s rice. The partnership, announced Monday via a press release from Mars, is exactly as perfectly on-brand as it sounds. No amount of focus-grouping or brand strategy could have manufactured this particular overlap. The only thing left to do, as Rice himself acknowledged, was show up and make it work.
“When your name is already built into the partnership, the only thing left to do is swing for the fences. Ben’s Original has built a great legacy, and I’m excited to be part of that while helping more kids and families access the meals they need.”
Rice posted his first commercial with the brand on Instagram to mark the announcement. Among the first to react in the comments was Yankees captain Aaron Judge, who kept his response appropriately brief.
“It just happens.”
The deal that puts food on the table
Beyond the obvious nameplate appeal, the partnership carries a meaningful charitable component. Mars announced that the collaboration will benefit No Kid Hungry, an organization focused on connecting children facing food insecurity with consistent meals through schools and community programs.
To launch the partnership, Ben’s Original is contributing funding tied to 22,000 meals for children in need. The number was chosen deliberately. It reflects Rice’s No. 22 jersey. The brand has also committed to donating 22,000 additional meals for each big play Rice makes during the 2026 season, meaning his performance on the field will directly translate into food access for families throughout the year.
Mars did not define the precise criteria for what qualifies as a big play, leaving that open to interpretation across the season. Based on what Rice did in 2025, there figures to be no shortage of qualifying moments.
The player behind the punchline
Rice’s breakout 2025 campaign turned him from a fringe roster option into one of the more important young position players in the Yankees lineup. In his first full season, he batted .255 with a .337 on-base percentage, an .836 OPS, 26 home runs, and 65 RBI in 143 games. His average exit velocity of 93.3 mph ranked ninth among all major league hitters, per Baseball Savant. His hard-hit rate of 56.1 percent placed him seventh in the sport.
The 2024 debut had been rough. Rice hit .171 across 50 games and was optioned to the minors. He came back reshaped, having added strength over the offseason and refined his approach at the plate. The result was a 133 wRC+ and a 3.0 fWAR season that put him firmly in the Yankees’ long-term plans at first base.
Judge, coming off his own remarkable 2025 (.331 average, 53 home runs, 114 RBI, third AL MVP award and first batting title in 152 games), will anchor the top of the Yankees lineup again in 2026. Rice is slotted into the middle of that order, projected by Boone as the five or six hole hitter depending on the matchup.
The Yankees open the 2026 regular season Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco, the first game of a Netflix-exclusive Opening Night broadcast. Rice will be in the lineup. So will the real-life reminders that come with his name showing up on the lineup card every day this season.
A brand enters baseball with the right introduction
For Ben’s Original, the partnership represents the brand’s first notable move into professional sports. Mars positioned it not as a stunt but as a platform, tying the product’s visibility directly to a charitable outcome that grows with Rice’s production. The structure makes the deal unusual in the endorsement landscape: the bigger Rice plays, the more the contribution scales.
The Yankees‘ social media team has long used a cooked rice emoji alongside Rice’s highlights and mentions. That running joke now has a formal corporate backer behind it and a number attached to the meals it will help generate.
Rice entered 2026 spring training in strong form, posting a 1.345 OPS through his first several Grapefruit League appearances. Manager Aaron Boone confirmed in camp that Rice will see more action against left-handed pitching this year, a development Rice said he has specifically prepared for.
The Yankees open Wednesday in San Francisco. The Ben’s Original deal launched Monday. The timing, like the name match itself, felt too clean to be accidental.
A deal made in heaven? What do you think?
