Sponsors are one of the most important aspects of all the sports in the world. They are one of the main forms of income for them and help support workers within the industry. Without them, many workers would have a harder time funding everything that is required, from the food and training the players need to the events themselves. The price of a sponsorship directly correlates to a sport and its popularity. Meaning that the more popular the sport is the higher price they can mark up for their event or seasonal sponsors.
The NFL has mostly stuck to traditional sponsorships throughout history and has denied gambling-related ones. But lately has decided to turn the tide and accept and embrace the industry as a sponsor for its season. The main advertising is targeted at gamblers through new online sports betting casino sites and their bonuses. Gambling sponsors on the NFL are something that makes a lot of sense since the communities are closely intertwined. This is because sports betting has always been part of the NFL fan experience.
Why has the NFL embraced Sportsbooks and Casino Sponsors recently?
The NFL embracing the gambling industry’s sponsorships for this season has come as a surprise to many long-time fans. Led mostly by the negative stigma that has been associated with the industry for a long time. But the fact that the NFL and many other sports have accepted sportsbook and casino sponsors means the world’s view on the industry is slowly changing.
This means that this is just the beginning of the many sponsorships we will see come from the gambling industry. A likely candidate of what we will see is that the industry will take brand ambassadors to serve as spokespersons for select online casinos and sportsbooks. Which would further better the reputation of the industry while benefiting the NFL.
Has the NFL had success with gambling Sponsors?
As the National Football League is earning around 2 billion U.S. dollars in partnership feels, which is the most in all professional sports. The agreements from betting firms and tech companies have attributed to a record-breaking 1.8 billion of set revenue. The NFL’s figure was set at a 12% increase from last year’s 1.62 billion and 1.47 in the season before that.
What made this year so successful was unsurprisingly sports gambling companies, casinos, and lottery sponsorship agreements. Of the 2021 partners DraftKings, FanDuel, and Ceasars are the companies that have struck five-year pacts worth around 1 billion U.S. dollars combined. The National Football League also struck deals with BetMGM, WynnBetm Fox Bet, and PointsBet.
All these deals and their success mean a lot for the gambling industry since their success will most likely mean more deals for it. Even outside of the NFL many sports have started to take up gambling-related sponsors for the next seasons.
What can we expect in the Future?
As the NFL continues to embrace the gambling industry it would not be surprising to pick up some of its closely related partners. Many speculate that the next big sponsor pick-up for the NFL will be the cryptocurrency space. This is not without proof since in October at NFL’s ownership meetings officials stated that they are considering crypto as a potential sponsor. They also stated that this is just a model that they are still considering and nothing concrete has yet been made clear.
But since the NBA has seen a successful deal with the crypto platform Coinbase and Crypto.com the NFL might follow in suit. This potential deal would open up a lot of doors within the sport and it would be interesting to see how it would all unfold. But as of now we can only wait and hope for the best.
