Sean Sansiveri was recently named NFL Players Association vice president of business and legal affairs and will manage a number of initiatives for Players Inc., the marketing and licensing arm of the NFLPA. Prior to his new post, Sansiveri worked for the union as staff counsel overseeing the NFLPA’s health and safety initiatives. He has a background in labor and business, having worked for the AFL-CIO and in various practice areas, including commercial law and intellectual property law for Saul Ewing.
“
We are looking for strategic ways to expand our licensing through emerging technologies or places we are not otherwise represented. And it’s all about identifying categories and industries to think differently about engaging with NFL players — mainly on consumer products.”
 |
Photo by: KEVIN A. KOSKI / NFLPA
|
On a growing business: One of the biggest trends we are seeing year-over-year is an increased sponsor-brand appetite for using players. I mean, this past year, our partner-player activation, associating players with brands, is up significantly. … We had well over 1,000 different player deals this year.
New product areas: We have identified specific growth areas for Players Inc. including made-to-order apparel, 3-D printing, virtual reality, social gaming, healthy consumables and various ways to capitalize on mobile technology. So, just by way of example, virtual reality technology allows brands and properties to offer unique engagement opportunities with both fans and players.
On sensor technology: One of the trends we are watching outside of not just NFL football, but across all athletics, deals most directly with the intersection between health and safety and the use of sensor technology.
Challenges for players: There has been this notion of using statistic predictive modeling to build a winning team for years, but now we are seeing the same kind of data science being used in professional athletics in the name of improving player performance and health and safety. This kind of data collection or use of technology presents some major challenges for the participating player wearing the technology. This would include things like, Why is the data being collected? Who is getting access to it? Does the player actually have informed consent, and what kind of longitudinal use is happening? For example, is the team keeping track of the data year after year to see a decline in player performance, and is that being used to make a player decision? There are a lot of protections that need to be put in place.
