Gambling boom leads to NFL sponsorship sales surge

TV ratings are not the only thing rising for the NFL—the league is swimming in sponsorship dollars thanks to surging interest from sports betting, casino and lottery brands. Spending in those sectors jumped 140% this season, helping boost the total rights fees haul for the league and its teams to $1.8 billion this season, up 12% from the previous season, according to a new report from IEG, a sponsorship consultancy. The windfall is the result of the NFL’s new embrace of gambling sponsorships after spending years resisting them. A key moment came in April 2021 when the league signed Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings and FanDuel as its official sports betting partners. A couple of months later it embraced the liquor category for the first time, signing Diageo as its first-ever spirits sponsor, clearing the way for the owner of Crown Royal, Smirnoff Vodka and Captain Morgan to use NFL trademarks in national TV ads, digital marketing and activations at games. “Opening new official partnership categories has provided the NFL an opportunity to bring incremental sponsorship rights fee revenue to the sport,” Peter Laatz, global managing director of IEG, said in a statement. Get the latest Ad Age Super Bowl 2022 news here. While revenue surged, the total number of NFL deals remained flat compared with the year prior as “new partnerships declined after an uptick last season driven by the Rams, Chargers and Raiders opening new stadiums,” according to IEG. Still, other naming rights activity for existing stadiums led to new revenue. IEG called out the New Orleans Saints signing Caesars to replace Mercedes-Benz for the Superdome; the Buffalo Bills inking a deal with Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield to replace New Era; and the Kansas City Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium adding a “field naming rights partner” with the Government Employees Health Association, whose GEHA acronym was shown on signage plenty of times during last weekend’s thrilling Chiefs-Bills playoff game. This season’s TV ratings surge could put the league in a good position to lure more deals in the offseason. Regular season viewership jumped 10% to an average of 17.1 million viewers per game. Last weekend’s divisional playoffs lured an average of 38.2 million viewers, the best showing ever for that round. See which brands are buying ads in Super Bowl 2022. The league’s global moves could also pave the way for more sponsorship growth. Its new “International Home Marketing Areas” program assigns international markets to certain teams, allowing them to engage in activities such as corporate sponsorship sales. For instance, the Miami Dolphins have Brazil, while the Los Angeles Rams were granted China. “In the coming year, teams should be picking up the pace of sponsorship growth through the new international home marketing rights opening global opportunities,” Laatz said.

Gambling boom leads to NFL sponsorship sales surge

Featured Stories