How to Sponsor an NFL Player This Coming Season
Have you ever wondered how to get your brand sponsored by an NFL Athlete? yet another NFL season is kicking off soon, and what a better time to find out some important elements of the process!
When sponsoring an NFL Player, get to Know your target audience
It’s important to have a clear understanding of who and where your brand is best suited to work with based on ideal demographic information. NFL athletes have some of the highest followers out of pro-athletes and knowing which players are best suited based on the teams they play for is an important factor in gaining the best results
Budgeting and Cost - understand your budget before starting the campaign
Finding an NFL athlete to work with according to a certain budget is important in understanding how to navigate a successful campaign. Depending on the form of the deliverable, the cost may differ. For example, it might be easier for a brand to ask an athlete to take at-home photos with a product vs a full commercial shoot. These deliverable factors are a huge key in determining the cost of a campaign.
Think about your NFL sponsorship campaign and how you can maximize personalization
Making campaigns personalized with certain athletes can go a long way in building successful results. Opensponsorship’s platform allows users to see athletes' personal interests and can choose to work with an athlete based on a particular interest. Athletes are much more likely to build a relationship with a brand of their personal interest and could already have the established following that is best suited to market to.
NFL Sponsorship Growth over the Years: from Beverage to Gambling sponsorships
The NFL has solidified itself as the most profitable sports league in the world, generating revenue of $11.1 billion. Out of that large revenue, nearly $2 billion came from sponsorship revenue. The primary industries spending on sponsorships with the NFL derive from technology, alcohol, and gambling. In recent years, the gambling industry has taken its sponsorship partnership with the NFL to new heights with huge long-term deals. This is only the initial stage of what the gambling industry has to bring to the revenue of the NFL and will continue to see year-over-year increases.
Leading NFL Athletes to sponsor: Travis Kelce and Russel Wilson, and more
With the growth in social media platforms, the engagement between NFL athletes and fans has never been closer before. Last season NFL stars: Rob Gronkowski, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Russell Wilson, and Travis Kelce lead players by taking on 25 brand deals each, with Gronkowski leading the way with 30 deals. More so, an estimated 1000 brands created endorsement deals with numerous NFL athletes. The leading industries that are growing sponsorships with NFL athletes are emerging from appeal brands and technology companies. Out of these deals, Opensponsorship has worked to bring to life a number of campaigns with NFL athletes.
NFL Player Sponsorship Case Studies to Inspire Your Own!
Over the last several months, Opensponsorship has been able to work with Walmart and some of the leading NFL stars on apparel campaigns. Sponsorships with Walmart include the likes of: Seattle Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowler Jamal Adams, Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons, Chicago Bears Quarterback Justin Fields, Eagles Running back Miles Sanders, Cleveland Browns defender Myles Garrett, and 49ers Wide Receiver Deebo Samuel amongst others.
Intel Sponsors NFL star, Rob Gronkowski
During Superbowl 51, Opensponsorship worked to create a campaign with Rob Gronkowski and technology leader Intel. The purpose of the campaign was for Intel to promote users to use their technology to capture videos.
The Bouqs Co. and Tyler Eifert
Former Pro Bowl Tight End Tyler Eifert teamed up with The Bouqs Co., one of the largest online flower distributors in the U.S. The unique collaboration created a successful campaign for the brand which increased brand awareness in a completely new market.
Sleefs and Bud Dupree NFL Sponsorship Campaign
Sleefs, a modern fashion apparel brand created a successful campaign with Pittsburgh linebacker Bud Dupree. Bud posted a photo to Instagram, telling his followers to go to the Sleefs site to snag a free sleeve or headband. Sleefs gave him his own code to direct his followers to use.
The results were staggering: Sleef’s site traffic increased by a substantial amount, fans of Dupree browsed and purchased way more items on the site, and each user stayed on the site for 91% longer than the average user.
Learn More About How To Work with and Sponsor NFL Athletes
With the NFL season fast approaching, there's never been a better time for your brand to work with an athlete. Sign up today for free and learn how to get started with an endorsement campaign with NFL athletes to grow your brand!
