New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, left, hands off to rookie running back Sony Michel, right, during an NFL football minicamp practice, Tuesday, June 5, 2018, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, left, hands off to rookie running back Sony Michel, right, during an NFL football minicamp practice, Tuesday, June 5, 2018, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) Credit: Steven Senne

Concord — New Hampshire residents will soon have the option to buy a license plate decal featuring the New England Patriots after a bill signing by Gov. Chris Sununu on Wednesday.

The decal stickers, set to be sold by the team’s charitable foundation, will feature a message declaring “5X Champions” next to the football team’s logo, a reference to the team’s Super Bowl wins. Available as early as October, they join 10 other new decals from a range of local organizations provided for under the bill, from the Daniel Webster Boy Scouts to the New Hampshire Breast Cancer Coalition.

Backed by dozens of representatives of the organizations, Sununu hailed the initiative as a new way for Granite State drivers to support charities.

“It’s great — we’re an incredibly charitable state, and to be able to sit here today and talk about a bill that just accentuates that giving spirit, I have no doubt we’re going to do everything from selling a lot of license plates to shining a lot of light, if you will, on a lot of these nonprofits,” he said.

Beyond the Patriots, the bill expands the number of available decals within the states. Other available stickers include Granite Pathways, the New Hampshire Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Association, Friends of the Hampton Falls Bandstand Inc., Seacoast Youth Services, New Hampshire Catholic Charities, New England Donor Services Inc., Sophia’s Fund, and the University System of New Hampshire, which will provide decals for Granite State College, Keene State College and Plymouth State University.

Displaying the decal requires a special five-digit license plate available from town offices or the state Division of Motor Vehicles, according to Elizabeth Bielecki, director of the DMV. The driver would then purchase the decal from their nonprofit of choice and display it on the left side of the plate.

The stickers are relatively new for the Granite State. In recent years, efforts to design themed New Hampshire license plates similar to the popular “moose plates” have struggled to get through the Legislature, after lawmakers balked at the design and implementation cost, according to Bielecki. Decals were presented as a cheaper solution that could accommodate more organizations. They first appeared in 2016, when a bill passed authorizing decals for veterans; in 2017, more legislation passed allowing stickers to support firefighters, the Rotary Club and the University of New Hampshire.

The versatile nature of the five-numbered decal plate system — which users can adorn with the sticker of their choice, makes it a good option financially, Bielecki said.

“It is unique because we really are striking a good balance of being frugal with our funds, of having just one plate to type, but allowing New Hampshire residents to still express their support for the different organizations, by having just one product,” she said. “As opposed to seven different plate types that would be costly to produce.”