Marketplace Roundup

Sprint Nextel spokesperson Melinda Tiemeyer said that cost "was a big issue" behind the NFL's decision to sign a partnership with Verizon, ending Sprint's official five-year league sponsorship. Tiemeyer said, "We made the decision not to extend the sponsorship after the price tag reached a point where we questioned the return on our investment" (K.C. STAR, 3/10).

SOAKING IN THE DEBT: In N.Y., Kaja Whitehouse reports the NFL Giants have joined the "growing list of sports franchises suing" SpongeTech Delivery System for allegedly "skipping out" on its sponsorship payments. The Giants claim that SpongeTech owes the team $360,000 as "part of a promotional agreement for signs and radio mentions, as well as for allegedly skipping out on a meal tab." MSG and the Mets both sued SpongeTech in January for missed payments, and the Giants' case puts the company "in the hole to area sports teams to the tune" of almost $1.1M (N.Y. POST, 3/10).

Bears Waiting To See What Number Peppers Will Wear Next Season

WHERE'S THE PASS RUSH? In Chicago, Ed Sherman noted the Bears cannot produce and sell jerseys for newly signed DE Julius Peppers because they "don't know his number yet." A link on the Bears' Web site "shows a jersey with Peppers' name on it with the number 00," and the same is true for new RB Chester Taylor. Peppers wore No. 90 last season with the Panthers, but Bears DT Jarron Gilbert wore that number last season (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 3/9).

A NEW FRONTIER: The ECONOMIC TIMES' Aminah Sheikh reports Wasserman Media Group "plans to sponsor Indian sportspersons, their representations and naming rights, in a bid to extend its global leadership into the country." WMG Chair & CEO Casey Wasserman yesterday said that the company will open shop in Mumbai to "offer other services, including consulting services to sports people." WMG will "begin with exploring opportunities in cricket," and will extend "most of its international services to India, including its collaborations with American Express and T-Mobile." Wasserman said, "An international property like the Indian Premier League is one such property that provides immense opportunities for sports management companies and has widened the sports market in India" (ECONOMIC TIMES, 3/10).