Visa has renewed its NFL corporate sponsorship for six years at what the league termed "a total contractual commitment" of $300 million. Sources said the annual figure of $50 million includes cash of $10 million annually in combined rights fees and a minimum guaranteed spend on nfl.com and NFL Network, with the remaining $40 million going to a combined spend on advertising within NFL games and on marketing initiatives around the NFL calendar, such as the playoffs and season-opening kickoff weekend.
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| Visa, whose name has appeared on NFL team cards, has its eyes on a NFL reward-based card to come out later this year. |
Visa, an NFL corporate sponsor since 1995, is in the final year of a four-year, $20 million rights deal. That contract did not include any marketing requirement, though Visa activated as heavily as any NFL rights holder. Indeed, two sources said the $40 million annual media commitment in the new deal is actually less than the payment-card association already spends advertising in NFL games.
As NFL owners increasingly insist on marketing independence, many rights are reverting to clubs. Thus while Visa's rights for the past eight years included national and local exclusivity, this deal includes only league rights — the NFL shield, Super Bowl and Pro Bowl marks and collective use of the 32 team trademarks.
"At the end of the day, we see the crown jewels as the league, the playoffs and the Super Bowl," said Visa senior vice president of event and sponsorship marketing Michael Lynch. "If you want the 18- to 34-year-old male, the NFL is one of the best, if not the best, sports platforms."
Even without club rights, Lynch said the NFL was delivering more value, because of its increased emphasis on specific marketing platforms and the ability to tie into things like the new NFL reward-based credit card that will be issued by MBNA later this year, and more direct ties into other NFL direct marketing programs, such as NFL Shop and Sunday Ticket.
"[The NFL is] developing more of a marketing-driven organization, and we saw the value in the marketing platforms they are building specifically for us," Lynch explained.
With rival brand MasterCard adapting a strategy of acquiring NFL club sponsorships (see related story), the NFL has both brands activating against it.
Estimates have MasterCard spending $5 million to $6 million to secure its 16 NFL club relationships. Add to that the $96 million over six years that MBNA paid for its recent renewal as the issuer of NFL affinity cards, and it's a hefty category increase.
Even with all of its club associations, MasterCard made a run at the national rights deal. Various sources said MasterCard offered a higher rights fee, but Visa won out because of its willingness to contractually commit more dollars to NFL broadcasts and league marketing programs.
As NFL rights generally decentralize and team owners battle over the future of the NFL Trust that governs collective marketing rights, the league has proved it can deliver value in its biggest categories without club rights.
"Every deal is measured by whether we are driving rights fees to the league, sponsorship fees to the clubs and advertising dollars to the rights holders," said John Collins, the NFL's senior vice president of sales and marketing. "This deal did all that."
