Nationwide Insurance yesterday formally announced a three-year deal with the NFL to become an official league insurance sponsor. The partnership begins this season and runs through the '16 season. Nationwide becomes a founding sponsor of NFL Now, the league's new digital video service launching this month. Other assets include presenting sponsorship of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award (Nationwide). SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL first reported the deal last week, and noted while talks were still ongoing, a source said that this was a "potential eight-figure sponsorship agreement" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/28 issue). In Columbus, Mark Williams reports Nationwide as an official insurance sponsor will "share that role with USAA, which caters to members of the military and their families." Nationwide Exec VP & CMO Matt Jauchius said, "An NFL fan tends to be a consumer who has things we tend to insure." Williams notes part of the "strategy also is to introduce fans to the array of Nationwide's financial products, including its financial and retirement products" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 8/5).
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OFFICIAL INSURANCE PARTNERS AMONG SELECT U.S. LEAGUES
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LEAGUE
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INSURANCE SPONSOR(S)
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NFL
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Nationwide/USAA
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MLB
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none
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NBA
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State Farm
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NHL
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Geico (U.S. only)
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MLS
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Allstate
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PEYTON'S PLACE: Jauchius said that Nationwide's deal with Broncos QB Peyton Manning "helped bring the league on board." Jauchius: "Signing Peyton Manning helped the NFL realize how serious we were in investing with them. We’ve been in talks with NFL since last fall." Jauchius added that the deal with the NFL is "on par with financial terms of the PGA and NASCAR relationships." He said that the company’s commitment to all three leagues is "small compared with spending on television commercials and other advertising" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 8/5).
