Goodyear and NASCAR Agree To Five-Year Extension Through '17

Goodyear Tire and NASCAR have "negotiated a five-year extension that will carry their partnership" through '17, according to Tripp Mickle of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. Sources valued the deal at $12-15M a year. Goodyear will "maintain its position as the official tire of NASCAR." The most "significant change in the new agreement is that Goodyear will have more flexibility in how it activates its sponsorship." The deal "asks only that Goodyear spend a set amount and gives the tire company the flexibility to choose where and how to spend that money." Goodyear VP Pierre Jambon said that the company "asked for that flexibility because the evolving media landscape made it important to preserve the ability to spend more on digital in the future as consumers continue to migrate online." Jambon: "That was a critical piece of our discussion with them" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 10/3 issue).