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Marketing and Sponsorship

NFLPA Defends Licensing Rights In Wake Of Comments From League

The NFLPA’s marketing and licensing arm yesterday issued a strongly worded statement saying that it does have the right to use group player licensing rights in deals with NFL and non-NFL sponsors and disputing public comments made by an NFL exec questioning whether the association’s subsidiary has those rights. “Once NFL Owners decided to lock the players out, they also locked out their fans and are now locking out sponsors,” said NFL Players President Keith Gordon in a statement. Gordon said, “Statements made by the NFL regarding the NFLPA's licensing and marketing business, particularly those of its senior business counsel Gary Gertzog, are factually incorrect.” Gertzog had questioned NFL Players' rights to sign group player licensing deals now that the NFLPA has decertified as a union and is operating as a trade association. But Gordon explained yesterday, “To clarify, our rights emanate from a stand-alone contract, called a Group Licensing Assignment (‘GLA’).  Each year, the NFLPA and NFL Players Inc. (the for-profit subsidiary of the NFLPA) enters these contracts with current and future NFL players. The GLA contract is not premised on the existence of any Collective Bargaining Agreement (‘CBA’) or the NFLPA remaining a labor union. These rights are exclusive and can only be obtained through NFL Players Inc.” Gordon said in the statement that NFL sponsors are currently in an “unfortunate” position, but that it is a situation that was created by the league, not NFL Players Inc. “Perhaps more disappointing is the lack of transparency to their own sponsors who, while still paying for player rights in their sponsorships, will no longer receive them,” Gordon said. “Sponsors should be asking themselves why they would pay the NFL for something they cannot contractually deliver” (Liz Mullen, SportsBusiness Journal).

SACKED FOR A LOSS? In N.Y., Garett Sloane reports EA Sports "could suffer a $165 million hit if the NFL lockout leads to a canceled season." EA is "going full speed ahead with 'Madden NFL 12' production, yesterday calling for fans to vote on which currently locked-out player to put on the cover." But Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter said that "if players and team owners don't strike a deal, Madden sales could drop by as much" as 50%. Pachter said, "I would guess that half the people who play Madden play because they genuinely like the game and half buy it because it's a gift, and it's the gifts that are at risk if the season is cancelled and football is not foremost" in peoples' minds (N.Y. POST, 3/22). CNET.com's Don Reisinger noted "Madden NFL 12" is "scheduled to launch this August," and the labor dispute "won't stop it." EA Sports Senior PR Manager Rob Semsey yesterday said, "Fans of Madden NFL will not have their season interrupted, regardless of when the labor issues are resolved. We plan to release Madden NFL 12 in August as always" (CNET.com, 3/21).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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