The National Football League is nearing $2 billion in partnership fees, the most in professional sports. Agreements from betting firms and technology companies helped the NFL lure a record $1.8 billion in sponsorship revenue, sports partnerships consultancy firm IEG told CNBC. The NFL’s figure is a 12% increase year-over-year from $1.62 billion it made in the 2020 season. It pulled $1.47 billion from sponsorships in the 2019 season. Sports gambling companies, casinos, and lotteries saw the most significant spike in NFL sponsorship agreements. DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caesars became sportsbook partners in 2021 after the companies struck five-year pacts worth just under $1 billion combined. The NFL also landed secondary deals with BetMGM, WynnBet, FoxBet, and PointsBet. Partnership deals with the NFL usually run from three to seven years and cost a minimum of $10 million per year for smaller companies. More prominent firms could pay more than $200 million per year.
FanDuel app Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Verizon has one of the more prominent NFL deals and paid the league over $300 million annually. Last September, the communications company agreed to a new 10-year deal with the NFL and added 5G rights. But the new deal doesn’t include live streams of games, making it less valuable. That also means the NFL’s mobile rights are also up for grabs. IEG’s estimates come days after the NFL produced one of its most memorable playoff weekends that included the thrilling overtime game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. That game attracted over 42 million viewers, the highest divisional postseason game since 2017.