Marketers "anticipate the NFL season to kick off as planned on Sept. 10 and are scrambling to shift even more ad dollars to the league" as they have "become increasingly pessimistic in recent weeks about the likelihood of college football this fall," according to Zanger, Lynch & Barwick of ADWEEK. There are "simply too many dollars and eyeballs at stake to lose the NFL season." Havas Media Senior VP/Strategic Investments Jeff Gagne said, "Football commands such a huge share of the collective advertising wallet that it’s hard to imagine what happens and where it all goes if that doesn’t occur." Zanger, Lynch & Barwick noted the possibility of a COVID-19 surge this fall that "could shut down games at any moment requires those involved with the NFL, from brands to networks, to prepare for all possible contingencies -- including the possibility of no football." Media companies whose bottom lines have been decimated during the pandemic, in large part because of the lack of live sports, now are "counting on the NFL to help them rebound." A Fox Sports source said that clients "already in talks about NFL inventory have sped up their negotiations to finalize deals ahead of the expected influx of college football advertisers seeking a new home." A source with the league said that they "are 'full steam ahead,' and that the league hasn’t discussed contingency plans, cancellations or delays with its partners" (ADWEEK.com, 8/18).
