Broncos Fans Upset At Naming-Rights Partner Cheering On Chiefs

Empower Retirement "drew the ire of Broncos Country on Twitter for cheering the Chiefs' victory in the AFC title game" on Sunday, despite owning the naming rights to Empower Field at Mile High through '39, according to Kyle Newman of the DENVER POST. Empower's official account on Sunday tweeted before the game, "Get loud #ChiefsKingdom, it's game day!" The company then followed that tweet up postgame with another congratulating the Chiefs on their victory. That second tweet had "over 300 comments" as of yesterday morning, the majority of them from "disgruntled Broncos fans who were upset with sponsored marketing that they see as a clear conflict of interest." However, in addition to being a partner with the Broncos, Empower also has been a partner of the Chiefs and the Patriots since '15. But as one fan pointed out, Empower's corporate alignment with a divisional rival "just gives Broncos Country more motivation to refer to the stadium by its classic, sponsor-less name" of Mile High (DENVER POST, 1/21).