Casino and sportsbetting deals boost annual NFL marketing spend

American sponsorship consulting and valuation firm, IEG, has announced that marketing spend on this season’s edition of the National Football League (NFL) increased by some 5.1% year-on-year to reach $1.39 billion thanks in part to a rise in the value of deals the sport inked with firms involved in casinos and sportsbetting.

Continual improvement:

The Chicago-based consultancy used an official Tuesday press release to detail that this growth in overall marketing spend on the NFL and its 32 franchises surpassed the average year-on-year industry swell of 4.1% and came after the sport had recorded a 5.9% boost for its previous 2017/18 edition.

PASPA reversal opportunities:

IEG released its latest findings just days before the NFL is set to conclude its 99th season, which kicked off only four months after the United States Supreme Court invalidated the federal prohibition on sportsbetting known as the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). The firm stated that while the number of sponsorship deals the sport subsequently agreed with firms involved in gaming had been ‘actually very similar to’ the tally for its 2017/18 season, the value of these partnerships had ‘greatly increased.’

Daily fantasy sport numbers drop:

Peter Laatz, Global Managing Director for IEG, declared that the NFL’s most recent marketing numbers had been driven up by new league-wide sponsorship deals with the likes of Sleep Number, McDonald’s, Intuit and Pizza Hut although spend from daily fantasy sports firms actually fell as operators reduced expenditures or cancelled such arrangements altogether.

Read Laatz’ statement…

“The NFL and its teams have successfully leveraged the increased ability to sign betting and gambling partners. It allowed the league to defy the odds and increase sponsorship revenues by a decent margin coming off a season of declining ratings in 2017/18 and no new stadiums opening in 2018/19.”

Growing influence:

Laatz pointed to the recent alliance between the NFL and Caesars Entertainment Corporation that is to see the American casino giant serve as the sport’s ‘official casino partner’ as being indicative of the rising profile of gaming firms in gridiron football. He explained that this agreement is allegedly worth up to $30 million a year while disclosing that the Las Vegas-headquartered operator moreover has similar alliances in place with seven franchises including the Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles.