Organizers of the new eNASCAR Heat Pro League are asking mid to high six figures annually for the league’s naming rights, sources say, an early indicator of monetization plans for the series.
NASCAR, the Race Team Alliance and 704Games are joint-venture partners launching the console-based eNASCAR Heat Pro League this year as a way to latch onto trends around the nexus of esports and racing simulator games.
The league’s draft was held earlier this year at ISM Raceway and organizers are eyeing the first race to be held in Charlotte in May as part of the Speed Street festival that leads into Charlotte Motor Speedway’s spring NASCAR race weekend.
Sources said organizers are in the market pitching the title deal, whose six-figure price will depend on the assets purchased. Some sources pegged the asking price at $750,000 annually. The length of the term being sought was unclear, as was how the revenue would be divvied up between the different partners. Motorsport Network is the majority investor in 704Games.
704Games confirmed the range for the asking price but declined to comment further.
The league will use 704Games’ “NASCAR Heat 3” video game as the platform for the races in 2019 and feature up to 16 race teams fielding spots for 32 drivers. Each team will field two drivers — one will compete on PlayStation 4 and the other on Xbox One. The races will be run primarily remotely, but the series is looking at holding at least two in-person live events in 2019, including the previously mentioned inaugural race in Charlotte.
The league will be novel in that this marks the first time that participants will officially represent NASCAR’s actual teams in video game competition. For example, the players typically will be hired as team employees and will represent them in marketing beyond the races themselves, such as on the teams’ official social media channels. In addition, teams also are taking different approaches to how they are going to brand their esports operations. For example, Stewart-Haas Racing created the moniker Stewart-Haas Gaming for its team rather than just calling it by the SHR name. No team sponsorships have been announced yet.
Currently, there are 14 teams (with 28 drivers), so the league could add two more teams. Sources said the franchise expansion fee is between $50,000 and $100,000, but 704Games declined to confirm that. Teams in the RTA, as well as Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports, all received their franchises for free as part of the original joint-venture agreement, according to a separate person familiar with the agreement.
Teams also are selling sponsorships for their cars that will compete in the games. Some teams are seeking new sponsors entirely, while others are planning to work with their existing slate of partners.
The asking prices vary by team, but one source said that teams typically are seeking around $50,000 annually for a seasonlong primary sponsorship.
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