Negotiations have broken down between Sprint Corp. and the NFL over telecommunications sponsorship.
A pair of sources close to the talks said all proposals are off the table, and league officials are now pitching sponsorship packages to other telecommunications companies. Major long-distance carriers AT&T Corp. and MCI Communications Corp. are both said to have passed on an NFL deal, and the category will now almost certainly be carved up between wireless, long distance and five or so other possible subdivisions.
Sprint was paying a record $24 million a year to the league to lock up the entire telecommunications category. The crown jewel of the deal was something not even included in the original contract — logo placement on coaches' headsets. The league is now seeking many millions for that piece of inventory alone.
But with many telecom firms tightening their marketing budgets after waging bitter brand wars over the last few years, the NFL may find few takers at the prices team owners are expecting. Teams will likely get to sell at least some portion of the telecom category locally, but the headsets will remain the league's domain unless the NFL makes a radical change and allows teams more control of the sidelines.
The NHL is left saying "thanks but no thanks" to its lame-duck broadcast partner, the Fox Network.
Fox has been promoting its upcoming NHL broadcasts by airing commercials in key NFL games, including Thanksgiving Day and the NFC championship. But the spots have made league officials cringe by playing up fighting as hockey's main attraction.
Then, adding insult to injury, Fox created a spot noting that the NHL All-Star game will not have any fighting with the word "Disappointed?" flashed across the screen.
Fox won a Cleo award for its NHL promotional ads last year but is nothing short of schizophrenic with its campaign this year, giving up prime advertising inventory and then practically telling viewers not to watch. As one veteran NHL marketer commented, "I think 'disappointed' sums up how Fox feels about the whole NHL experience."
Foot Locker will carry sports collectibles at its NFL Experience retail setup for the first time this year. The footwear chain does millions of dollars of business and flies in employees from all over the country each year for its temporary store at the NFL Experience, the interactive fair held at the Super Bowl. This year, the store will include autographed football helmets and other collectibles, supplied by New York-based Steiner Sports Marketing.
