HBO late night host John Oliver chooses Erie SeaWolves for rebranding promotion

By Nicholas Sorensen, Erie Times-News

May 20, 2025

John Oliver is at it again with Erie, not the John Oliver from VisitErie, but “Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver.

The host of the Sunday night HBO show presented a deeply researched segment on the wild world of Minor League Baseball promotions.

On the show, Oliver made an offer some Minor League Baseball teams couldn’t refuse. “I have a very special offer,” Oliver said. “We are willing to use all of our resources and stupidity to give one Minor League Baseball team a total rebrand.”

Through this campaign, 47 minor league teams submitted themselves for consideration in a span of two weeks. Out of those 47, the Erie Seawolves were named the winner on May 18.

This comes just over a month after Oliver highlighted Erie when he mentioned IRG ending plans to build a $300 million recycling plant at the former site of Hammermill Paper Co.

In the same segment, Oliver also mentioned General “Mad” Anthony Wayne, whose corpse was boiled in oil to better facilitate the transport of his remains to his hometown near Philadelphia.

How was Erie selected as the winner?

According to Sports Illustrated, Oliver chose the SeaWolves after hearing the team’s list of 11 good reasons to pick them.

One of the reasons that caught Oliver’s attention that the SeaWolves play baseball nowhere near the sea. Oliver said, “that’s a problem, Erie, and we can help you fix that. So, congratulations to the SeaWolves, you’re about to be called something else.”

What will John Oliver’s rebrand include?

In his offer, Oliver wants full control of the rebrand of the SeaWolves.

That means giving the team a new name, a new mascot (sorry, C. Wolf) and even a theme night.

Oliver says, “It will be personalized and be bespoke.”

How do the Erie SeaWolves feel?

SeaWolves President Greg Coleman shared his thoughts on the rebrand, and they are all positive.

Coleman is fully on board with the whole idea, and said on Monday that Sunday night’s show has been the talk of the office for the past 12 hours.

“I think it’s a tremendous opportunity,” Coleman said. “It’s an opportunity to showcase Erie and showcase the team we have here and the success we’ve enjoyed. So, we’re thrilled.”

Coleman believes that the national attention will bring some light to Erie and highlight the positive aspects of the city.

“There’s so many things to love about where we live,” Coleman said. “From a team perspective, there’s benefits of having your brand… put out there on such a widespread basis. I think it’ll be something that will bring interest among the fans and is something that brings something new to the team.”

What will the SeaWolves be known as if John Oliver rebrands them?

If the SeaWolves are allowed by Major League Baseball to pursue the opportunity, there’s no telling what Oliver could do. Even Coleman is unsure of what could happen, but he’s open to the ideas.

“They have such a creative team,” Coleman said. “If you watch the show on a daily basis they come up with some really creative and fun ideas. We don’t have any indication of what it’s going to be, but we do know that there are a lot of things to love about Erie and they will have a lot to choose from. Erie is rife with opportunities, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with.”

What happens next?

Coleman says that MLB has the final call on the approval of a new or temporary mascot. This process involves conversations regarding intellectual property among other things. After that, the SeaWolves will be able to pursue the idea further.

Coleman said that the “Last Week Tonight” show and Major League Baseball have a call scheduled for May 20 to have a branding conversation. After the parties have worked out the licensing and legal details, that is when the SeaWolves would get involved.