SBJ Football: NFL Testing Prediction Games In Europe

This weekend will be my last chance to enjoy Pacific Time football -- one of the underrated joys of my family’s temporary relocation to the Bay Area. One more time, I’ll make breakfast during ESPN's "College GameDay," and then on Sunday, I’ll enjoy every second of "Sunday Night Football" and still have time for Netflix before bed. I’ll miss that.

NFL GETTING GAMING REPS ACROSS THE POND

• While states gradually roll out legalized sports betting, the NFL is busy gathering data -- and ideally new fans -- overseas with new free-to-play prediction games in the U.K., Germany and Australia. The NFL hopes to learn what sticks with fans in countries whose fans may be NFL neophytes, but are familiar with legal betting, said NFL Exec VP and Chief Strategy & Growth Officer Chris Halpin. “We use different markets, and different experiences to try different things, and see what resonates with fans and constantly recalibrate,” he said.
  
  
• In Australia, the prediction game is part of a broad deal with Tabcorp, which was also named the league's official wagering partner down under. Tabcorp will bring NFL Network and RedZone Channel programming during Sunday games (Monday morning in Australia) to a network of 4,400 pubs, clubs and agencies. Tab will also promote nflpickem.com.au, where the grand prize is a trip from Australia to the Pro Bowl in Orlando.
  
  
• The free-to-play games are more about engagement than gambling, and the league thinks these games are an easy way to keep fans a little more invested in the action. In Germany, the NFL is promoting the pick ‘em game with Proseiben, its media partner for Sunday games, while in the U.K., the NFL runs the pick 'em game under its own brand. The big prize in Germany is a trip to a London Series game in 2020, and the U.K. grand prize is a trip to the Pro Bowl -- though weekly winners get a free Game Pass Int'l subscription. After only two weeks of the season, it's too early for conclusions, Halpin said.

49ERS-SANTA CLARA FIGHT GETS UGLY

• How serious is the city of Santa Clara’s move to strip the 49ers of their authority to operate non-football events at Levi’s Stadium? You could call it a blessing in disguise, considering the early curfews and other operating restrictions at the venue. The 49ers also ended up clearing $750,000 on non-football events last fiscal year after expecting closer to $5 million. But a change to the city-team relationship would no doubt be a challenge. Naming-rights partner Levi’s and major sponsors like Intel and United Airlines were sold on a heavily used, all-purpose venue and a team operation that’s much more than just an NFL squad. Renewal prices might look very different if this goes badly.
  
  
• The Niners today are responding to Santa Clara by filing suit vs. going to arbitration. The move suggests they expect to win and backs up a forceful statement issued by 49ers VP/Public Affairs & Strategic Communications Rahul Chandhok, who called it a “self-destructive” process and a “petty political vendetta.” Insiders on both sides are seeking a fight, believing years of bickering with Mayor Lisa Gillmor won’t end unless a judge intervenes.
  
  
• Even if Santa Clara prevails, then what? Santa Clara would have to find another entity to manage non-NFL events there. The 49ers retain veto power over any new manager. Also, how many bidders would come? It would be a part-time gig, with the Niners still running the show from August-December. And a 10:00pm weekday curfew would still be in effect. Changing managers wouldn’t alter the stadium’s increasingly problematic reputation in the events business. The Rolling Stones’ site promoter said just last month it is "no longer worth the effort” to play Levi’s because the process is so “restrictive and dysfunctional.”
  
  
• After all the legal proceedings, the Niners are likely to be left with a frustrating status quo -- continued authority to run events, albeit under city-imposed conditions that frustrate the club's vision.

A LOOK AT NFL 100: WEST SIDE STORY

• Over the past quarter century, nearly $22 billion has been earmarked for NFL-related venue construction, according to SBJ research. But what about projects left on the drawing board? In 2004, the Jets unveiled a plan for a $1.5 billion, 75,000-seat stadium that would have been built on the west side of Manhattan and positioned it as part of N.Y.'s bid to host the 2012 Olympics. The stadium would feature a retractable roof and generate power using wind turbines. To entice N.Y. to back the project, the NFL awarded the stadium the 2010 Super Bowl. But the project fell apart when the city lost its Olympic bid and the Jets couldn’t secure public funding.

A Jets stadium was proposed for the site that has become the Hudson Yards real estate development

SPEED READS

• It's tough to read too much into the Browns' first primetime audience this season on "Monday Night Football." The matchup, which saw the Browns win 23-3 over a reeling Jets squad, was down 1% from a more competitive Seahawks-Bears game in Week 2 last year. A bigger test comes this week, as a tougher and more popular Rams squad visits Cleveland for NBC's "SNF."
  
  
• Which NFL team is winning in China? Digital sports agency Mailman -- a contractor that has run team sites on Chinese social media giant Weibo since 2016 -- sent along a few stats. The top five teams in total engagement over the past three months were the Patriots (by a lot), Rams, Seahawks, Cowboys and Steelers. The top five by growth in total followers in that same time frame were the Cowboys, Rams, Patriots, Texans and Steelers. Look for my story in Monday’s SBJ about some of the tactics teams are trying out in China.
  
  
• The future of NFL Sunday Ticket was up in the air before this week's Wall Street Journal report that AT&T is "exploring parting with its DirecTV unit." AT&T could ultimately decide to keep DirecTV in the fold, but this development is likely to figure in the calculus that the league office is doing as it tries to chart a path forward for its popular out-of-market package.
   
• It's not NFL all the time with this newsletter. News from beyond The Shield this week comes via SBJ's Terry Lefton: The XFL has tapped Dallas-based Connect Partnership Group and Chicago-based Navigate Research to help boost sponsorship sales. Expect Vince McMahon's XFL reboot to ramp up a sponsorship roster ahead of the Feb. 8 debut.
  
  
• Executive turnover continues at Redskins Park. Senior VP/Communications Tony Wyllie is the latest to depart Dan Snyder's organization, leaving for a management position with the Special Olympics. Over 40 employees have now left the team since former President of Business Operations & COO Brian Lafemina's exit in December.
  
  
• A report from USA Today on domestic violence issues found in background checks on three current NFL assistant coaches. The piece from Rachel Axon concludes that both the league and team officials have "fallen short of the type of thorough background checks they claimed they do to hold employees to a higher standard when it comes to violence against women."
  
  
• It's not all negative news with Levi's Stadium and its neighbors. Meena Sanghera, owner of Curry Roots in San Jose, is now in her second season as a vendor at the venue. Sanghera said that gameday revenue is not extraordinary, but it has introduced her to wealthy suite owners and local businesses who've turned into catering clients.

Sanghera with mascot Sourdough Sam during a food and beverage showcase prior to this weekend’s 49ers home opener

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Something on the football beat catch your eye? Tell us about it. Reach out to either me (bfischer@sportsbusinessjournal.com) or Austin Karp (akarp@sportsbusinessjournal.com) and we'll share the best of it. Also contributing to this newsletter is Thomas Leary (tleary@sportsbusinessdaily.com).