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The National Football League has named DraftKings the league’s exclusive daily fantasy sports partner.
As part of the deal, DraftKings has exclusive sponsorship opportunities with the NFL and can use NFL branding throughout their platforms. According to ESPN’s David Purdum, the NFL and DraftKings will co-create content for the DraftKings app including logos, NextGen Stats and video clips.
“This is a defining moment in the industry, and we are thrilled to become the first daily fantasy sports partner to enter into a formal relationship with the NFL,” DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said. “Throughout our discussions with the League, it was evident we share a common vision around the future of fan engagement, and we are excited to continue on this unique journey with the NFL as the Official Daily Fantasy Partner.”
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The NFL’s Chief Revenue Officer, Renie Anderson, said in a statement, “Daily fantasy football has been a tremendous vehicle for fans of all types to deepen their engagement with the NFL.”
“Daily fantasy football has been a tremendous vehicle for fans of all types to deepen their engagement with the NFL,” said Renie Anderson, Chief Revenue Officer of the NFL.
For years the NFL resisted sports gaming partnerships out of fear of the link to gambling and thus the integrity of the game. Individual teams and players over the years have made partnerships with fantasy sports entities, but the NFL at the league level had been wary.
Since the Supreme Court lifted the federal ban on sports gambling, 11 states have legalized sports betting.
The NFL also seems to be loosening its stance on gambling as the league has recently secured partnerships with Caesars Entertainment Corporation and a prominent Australian bookmaker, TAB.
Financial details of the agreement are not yet known, but it has been reported that the contract is over multiple years.
Almost 60 million people played fantasy sports in 2017, according to The Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association. Those numbers are likely to continue to increase.
It’s worth noting the DraftKings partnership covers daily fantasy sports and does not extend to DraftKings’s sports gambling services.
The NFL’s Oakland Raiders will move to Las Vegas in the 2020 NFL season, setting up major opportunities for the NFL to get more involved in the gambling side of football. Unlike NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, commissioners of the NBA, MLB, and NHL have all publicly praised the idea of gambling in their sports.
