Morning Buzz

USAA has renewed its longstanding NFL sponsorship, which the company termed a “significant long-term” extension. USAA, which markets insurance and other financial services to veterans, military members, and their families, has been an NFL corporate patron since 2011, when it became the league’s first “military appreciation” sponsor.

“The military community’s love for football above all sports far exceeds anything,” said USAA EVP & Chief Strategy & Brand Officer Ameesh Vakharia. “The NFL has been a great way for us to reach our audience and elevate our awareness, even outside of the military.”

The renewal isn’t drastically different from USAA’s prior rights. Given the NFL’s imperative for incremental overseas exposure, USAA will ramp up events around the league’s growing International Series of games, which will see six games in Europe this season. USAA remains the presenting sponsor of the Salute to Service Award. It will also be presenting sponsor of a 60-minute show focusing on its Salute to Service NFL efforts; distribution is TBD. Vakharia said, “The Salute to Service piece gives us real authenticity in a highly competitive category.”

160/90 and antecedent IMG have been handling USAA’s sports marketing since it became an NFL corporate sponsor. The most intriguing part of the deal is that the NFL simultaneously has Nationwide as an insurance sponsor, bifurcating one of the noisiest and most contentious marketing categories. Nationwide’s NFL marketing backs the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, while USAA leverages a military appreciation platform.

NASCAR this morning will name O’Reilly Auto Parts as the fourth title sponsor in the history of its second-tier national series, with a switch to an endemic car industry company meant to be part of NASCAR’s quest to return to its roots. What is currently called the NASCAR Xfinity Series will become the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Jan. 1 next year, ending the 11-year reign of Comcast’s Xfinity internet brand, which remains a premier partner of the top tier of the sport. NASCAR and O’Reilly aren’t revealing financial terms, but the multiyear deal will be medium term in length, not long term, NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell confirmed to SBJ.

Still, he said, “we expect any partnership we go into, we’re in it for the long haul.” NASCAR had been seeking $15M in average annual spend between rights and activation. Missouri-based O’Reilly was founded in 1957 and has over 6,400 stores in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, and plans in-store activations around the deal. O’Donnell told SBJ: “When you look at the Xfinity Series as its currently known, really from a popularity standpoint, No. 2 in the U.S. in terms of viewership, enthusiasm and the fan base, we knew we needed a partner that could continue to build on the story that Xfinity has had where names are made. They’ve done a really, really good job and it was important for us to find a partner that could activate in the local markets. O’Reilly Auto Parts stores are everywhere, and that’s going to be huge to have that activation, working with the race tracks where we’re hosting races, continuing to get the names of the drivers out there and obviously we believe we can really help them grow.”

Nexstar Media Group’s The CW channel started a new media rights deal this year to air the entire season for the Xfinity Series through 2031. The series is averaging around 1.1 million viewers per event, with 19 of 23 races so far this season having topped 1 million viewers. The numbers are on pace to be the best since 2018, NASCAR said. Intriguingly, the Xfinity Series has become something of a favorite for some of NASCAR’s hardcore fans who say the seventh-generation car used in the top-tier Cup Series isn’t creating as much entertainment value as the old-fashioned car used in the second-tier circuit. In prepared remarks, O’Reilly VP/Advertising & Marketing Hugo Sanchez said: “Partnering with NASCAR and The CW at this level enables us to further deepen our connection to one of the most loyal fan bases in all of sports.”

A couple different agencies were involved in the search to find Xfinity’s replacement, O’Donnell said. Klutch Sports Group was the main agency NASCAR worked with, but NASCAR ultimately negotiated directly with O’Reilly because it already had a relationship with the company, which advertised on NASCAR’s Motor Racing Network. The search for NASCAR was led by SVP & Chief Commercial Officer Craig Stimmel. Offers were made by multiple companies, O’Donnell said. The switch to an endemic brand in the sport comes after NASCAR told Ad Age in July that it was looking for a new creative agency to “help steer the stock car racing circuit back to its heartland roots and reconnect with the blue-collar fans who have long been its backbone.” To that end, O’Donnell told SBJ: “There was a lot of interest, and for us it came down to who is going to support the series the best but also who fits our brand as well and where we’re going, and O’Reilly was a natural fit for us.” While the publicly traded O’Reilly has missed analyst expectations in five of the last six quarters, it met forecasts in the most recent period and its stock is up 28% year to date. SBJ first reported on Saturday that O’Reilly was in line to replace Xfinity as title sponsor.

Sharks Sports & Entertainment has reached an agreement with the city of San Jose that “promises to keep the NHL franchise in the city until 2051.” The agreement -- scheduled for City Council approval later this month -- “would commit the city to providing” $325M of the overall $425M investment in upgrades to SAP Center and “impose stiff penalties on the Sharks should they leave the city.” The finalized lease agreement “has been anticipated for a few months” after San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan announced that both sides “had struck a tentative deal” during his state of the city address in May. The current lease agreement -- signed in 2015 -- had ensured the team would play at the arena until July 1, 2025, with the lease renewing annually through 2040 (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 8/15).

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said the league plans to have an answer shortly about who will receive the national TV package beginning in 2026 that ESPN currently holds. Manfred said during last night’s broadcast of the Little League Classic, “We’re having very detailed conversations with a number of parties, including ESPN. We hope to have it resolved in the next couple of weeks. It’s a little bit like a jigsaw puzzle, but we will have it resolved in the next few weeks.” ESPN’s Karl Ravech said, “I put my hand up for hoping that we stay involved.”

Manfred hit on some of the highlights for the league this season, saying, “We’re having another great attendance year, we’re going to be above 70 million again. I think it’s a good thing we’re seeing some teams -- Detroit’s played so well, Milwaukee’s played so well, it’s a great thing. I think the Dodgers-Padres rivalry is getting into that same zone that the Yankees and the Red Sox are in and have been in. The game on the field we feel like is in really, really good shape.”

He also talked about the importance of global growth for the league, saying, “The money and time we have spent internationally has really paid off for us. We had a great opener in Japan, and our business in Japan -- we do basically the same audience, 2.5 million people, for our game of the day in Japan that’s on at 8 o’clock in the morning as we do for your Sunday night game” (“Mariners-Mets,” ESPN, 8/17).

MLB’s Little League Classic was “a bit delayed due to rain” Sunday night, but once the game got going it was the Mets who “cruised” to a 7-3 win over the Mariners at the Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field in Williamsport. While it “was a blowout almost from the jump,” the Little Leaguers “were in it the entire time -- and even repeatedly adoring” Mets RF Juan Soto for his signature shuffle. Both the Mariners and Mets “had plenty of face time with the participants in the Little League World Series throughout Sunday.” Players were “greeted by swarms of kids hoping for autographs, or to trade hats or items” (YAHOO SPORTS, 8/17).

Each year, the players that meet the teams at the airport “bring hats, balls and baseball cards to get signed, as well as create signs to wave.” This year, the Little Leaguers “also had a surprise: cardboard cutouts of the Major League players made from pictures when they were that age.” The Mariners “came up with the idea,” so MLB “reached out to the families of the players to provide the pictures” (Williamsport SUN-GAZETTE, 8/18).

MLB has “built a refreshing tradition” with the Little League Classic. Rather than “a gigantic spectacle” a la the Speedway Classic, the Little League Classic “annually features the smallest annual attendance of the season by a comfortable margin” -- as Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field has a capacity of about 2,500. But MLB “ensures the bulk of the crowd is made up of the Little League players, coaches and families.” It’s “undeniably a long day at the office for the big leaguers,” but it “serves a greater purpose that is not lost on the players” (YAHOO SPORTS, 8/18).

A statue honoring former Storm F Sue Bird was “unveiled Sunday” by the entrance at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. The Storm are the “first WNBA franchise to dedicate a statue to a former player.” The statue, standing 8-foot, 650-pounds, was created by sculptor Julie Rotblatt-Amrany. Rotblatt-Amrany Studio is the “leading artistic team” behind the Lenny Wilkens statue outside the arena, plus the Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez and Dave Niehaus statues at T-Mobile Park. A fan festival and a Storm matchup with the Mercury, “called the ‘Forever Sue’ game,” followed the statue unveiling at 3pm PT. During the festivities, Sunday was “designated ‘Sue Bird Day’ at the city, county and state levels.” Multiple former WNBA players spoke at the ceremony (SEATTLE TIMES, 8/17).

Fans “gathered to witness Bird’s immortalization, listen to music, pose for caricature art, eat at food trucks and play games.” Many lined up to “take pictures with cardboard cutouts of Bird.” For many of the fans, seeing Bird “cemented outside of the stadium signifies an important new era for women’s sports, and women in general” (SEATTLE TIMES, 8/17). The sculpture encapsulates “maybe, the most accomplished athlete in Seattle history.” Attendance for Storm games was “long near or at the top of the league during Sue’s tenure.” And despite some of the “star power that sits courtside during Storm games, none of those celebs get the ovation Bird does when put on the jumbotron” (SEATTLE TIMES, 8/17).

Mythical Games’ FIFA Rivals has added Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund to its NFT mobile game in a multiyear deal, its first with a single team as the free-to-play soccer game expands its offerings for markets outside the U.S. The new content launches Monday.

As part of the deal, Borussia Dortmund players coming to the game include the likes of Karim Adeyemi, Serhou Guirassy, Nico Schlotterbeck, Gregor Kobel, Jobe Bellingham, Yan Couto and Daniel Svensson. Team kits are also coming to Rivals, along with a variety of in-game events and other activations around the club and its players.

FIFA Rivals is for iOS and Android, launched in June. It’s an arcade-style soccer game in which players can also own and trade in-game collectibles -- NFTs. Mythical Games also developed NFL Rivals, another blockchain-enabled mobile game. Per mobile market researcher Sensor Tower’s tracking platform, it’s ranked 166th in sports games in the U.S. on Google Play, with 300,000 downloads since launch.

In this week’s issue:

• SBJ’s technology writers Ethan Joyce, Joe Lemire and Rob Schaefer explore the various ways sports organizations -- teams, leagues, agencies, investors and more -- deploy artificial intelligence in their business operations. From internal processes to identifying potential sponsors to evaluating technology investments, AI is ubiquitous in sports business.
• As the documentary “America’s Team: The Gambler and his Cowboys,” nears its debut on Netflix, owner Jerry Jones talks with SBJ football writer Ben Fischer about what he learned about himself and his business during and after the production.
• Ten mid-major conferences have launched a coalition to lobby Congress and protect their future in college sports amid changes in the NCAA governance process. SBJ college writer Ben Portnoy explains how these conferences plan to play defense.
• The USTA’s plan to move its mixed doubles championship to U.S. Open Fan Week has support from some of tennis’ top players and from fans, selling out Arthur Ashe Stadium a week before play begins on Aug. 19. SBJ tennis writer Rob Schaefer details the motivations behind the move, along with some tennis storylines to watch as the three-week U.S. Open gets underway.
• SBJ women’s sports writer Rachel Axon breaks down the business of U.S. rugby star and Olympic bronze medalist Ilona Maher and how it focuses on helping girls and women become more confident.
• Meet the 14 members of Charlotte Sports Business Fellowship’s fourth class, who recently completed their summer assignments at sports business organizations. They share the advice they received and how they want to make an impact in sports business.