Brewers reportedly drop Klement’s as Racing Sausages sponsor

It’s a partnership many fans grew to relish, but after a quarter century, it’s one the Brewers determined no longer cut the mustard -- Klement’s is being dropped as the sponsor for the team’s Racing Sausages.

According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the local sausage maker broke the news to employees in a letter today. It doesn’t sound like it was a mutual decision, at least the way Klement’s CEO is describing it:

“For over 25 years, Klement’s has been the official sausage and hot dog provider of the Milwaukee Brewers. As a Milwaukee company, we’ve been proud to support our community and our team. All of our employees and facilities are in Milwaukee. We moved with the Brewers from County Stadium to Miller Park and from the American League to the National League. We loyally stood with them through the 100-loss seasons, and we were there for playoff victories.

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This spring we entered into our regular contract negotiations with the Brewers — just as we have done many times over the past 25-plus years. We intended to extend and continue our partnership with the Brewers — and more importantly the Brewers family of fans.

Unfortunately, the Brewers abruptly and without explanation cut off our negotiations. To our surprise, weeks later the Brewers informed us that they signed with another undisclosed company, and we would not have the opportunity to match the deal or negotiate.”

The racing sausages will still be at Miller Park come Opening Day, but they’ll be wearing a different logo. The Brewers aren’t commenting on the new sponsorship deal yet, so we don’t know who was responsible for the sausage usurpal, but with Klement’s putting the word out early, the Brewers will have to ketchup in the PR battle.