Visa is activating a dedicated "MVP" checkout lane at the NFL Shop this week in AtlantaGETTY IMAGES
Visa has renewed its sponsorship with the NFL through the '25 season, and the credit card company "envisions the first cashless Super Bowl" taking place at some point during the deal, according to Barry Wilner of the AP. Visa Chief Brand & Innovation Marketing Officer Chris Curtin said, “Part of what we talk a lot about with the NFL is getting a path to cashless events, and the epicenter is the Super Bowl.” He said Visa wants an "experience that from head to toe will be a cashless experience" and the NFL has agreed to partner with the company in "making that a reality." Wilner noted during this week's Super Bowl festivities in Atlanta, Visa is "activating a dedicated 'MVP' checkout lane at the NFL Shop to encourage cardholders to pay with contactless devices and get in and out of line quickly." Additionally, Giants QB Eli Manning, RB Saquon Barkley and Jets DE Leonard Williams "will be putting through some shoppers’ orders" at various checkout points. Curtin said the brand has athletes affiliated with Team Visa who will do "surprising light moments and be ‘manning the cashiers,’ and also going around town in Atlanta and able to bring a different kind of excitement for people there for the Super Bowl." Curtin "wouldn’t put a timetable on which of the upcoming NFL events" -- from Super Bowls to drafts to the international games -- "might be cashless." But it "seems to be coming" (AP, 1/29).
