The White Sox Are Giving Away Pope Hats August 11

Pope Leo XIV has been one of the more entertaining celebrity fans in recent sports history. He was in the stands for Game 1 of the 2005 World Series, has worn a White Sox cap at the Vatican, sent Paul Konerko an autographed jersey, and famously chirped back at a Cubs fan during a trip through the Vatican. The team already painted a mural of him on the Rate Field concourse near his old seat.

The August 11 giveaway is the natural next step. The black and green miter-shaped hats are only available through a special ticket package, restricted to five sections at Rate Field. The purchase page language is unusually specific: tickets “must be purchased from this link OR through a Group Sales representative. Third-party purchases will not include the Pope Night Hat, and this is not a stadium-wide promotion.”

That wording is significant. Most MLB giveaways are distributed in one of two ways: first-come, first-serve at the gate, or picked up during the game after scanning in special event tickets. While these hats would seem to fall under the latter category, the specific exclusion of third-party tickets is unusual, as special event tickets can be bought and resold freely like any other ticket, and the attendee will receive the item regardless of whether they got their seats directly from the Sox or a reseller.

This would seem to indicate that the hats will instead be shipped to ticketholders, but this is unconfirmed. Some have speculated that the Sox will be shipping the hats after the game because they are so big and they don’t want fans blocking views, but the wording on the purchase page – “Enjoy a designated area for our “Popes” to sit” – seems to indicate the exact opposite.

Instead, it’s being theorized that the Sox will be shipping the hats directly to fans before the game. This may be an attempt to speed up the entry process through the gate, but it would be highly unusual for any MLB giveaway.

CBS News Chicago reports the hats will be shipped directly to ticketholders ahead of the game. If accurate, this would be highly unusual for MLB giveaways, which are almost always in-stadium-only distributions. We’ve reached out to the White Sox ticket department for official confirmation and will update this article when we hear back.

If the hats are indeed shipped, the implications for resellers outside Chicago are significant. Standard MLB giveaways are regional by nature: you have to physically attend the game to get one. A shipped item theoretically opens this up to anyone in the country willing to buy a ticket. Given that the promotion is limited to five sections (estimated capacity around 2,500 seats), the total supply would be quite small.

There are also open questions about geographic restrictions. Even if the Sox do ship, they may require a Chicago-area billing address to fulfill the order. The current checkout flow has no address field, so details remain unclear.

Whether or not these are shipped or picked up at the stadium, we expect to see them resell for triple digit prices after the game. MLB promotional merch can be extremely lucrative, and the most popular ones come from when a team effectively engages with the local culture.

A great example of this comes from 2023, when the Atlanta Braves teamed up with OutKast to produce a limited edition bobblehead featuring Big Boi and Andre 3000. Fans lined up for hours to snag one, and they ended up reselling for over $200 the day after the game.

And we have a slightly more direct comparison. Last year, Pope Leo XIV was honored with a Topps Now release that sold 133,535 cards, shattering previous records for cards from superstars like LeBron and Wemby. Shortly after, a PSA 9 1/1 Superfractor version of the card gaveled for over $16,000.

Eligible tickets can be purchased through the official White Sox ticket page. Sections vary, and most seats in the eligible areas run around $30. There is currently no option to add a shipping address at checkout, so if the shipping reports prove accurate, fulfillment is likely handled through billing address.

For Chicago-area resellers: This is a full-send opportunity regardless of how the shipping question resolves. Take the family, enjoy the game, and flip everyone’s hats after. The in-person guarantee removes all uncertainty.

For resellers outside Chicago: Hold off on buying tickets until we get official confirmation on shipping logistics. The potential is real, but committing $30 per ticket without knowing whether you’ll receive a hat is not a calculated risk worth taking yet. Watch this space.

And if you’re looking for other profitable MLB promos, we’ve got you covered. We’ve written two guides to the 2026 season that cover the best offerings from the Dodgers, Red Sox, Mariners, and many other teams. By showing up for these games and flipping the promo afterwards, you can essentially attend MLB games in 2026 for free, or even make a profit.