I’m wondering if Americans will ever be as exuberant about a sport that originated offshore opening its season stateside as the Japanese are about MLB and Ohtani opening this season in Japan.
Words of wisdom: “You will see that the aim of the game is to develop the man and not to make money or even to draw a crowd.” -- James Naismith, the inventor of basketball
Subway spent on big player endorsements like Patrick Mahomes to support its NFL league deal. Subway
Football fans better get that footlong to go.
Sources tell me that Subway, an NFL corporate sponsor since 2020, will not be renewing those pricey rights when they expire at the end of this month.
I’m also told that attempts are in process to sell NFL QSR rights to another brand -- most likely sandwich shop Jimmy John’s (a longtime motorsports sponsor), with more than 2,700 stores across the U.S. (Subway has over 20,000). Jimmy John’s is part of the Inspire Brands family (that company, like Subway itself, is controlled by private equity firm Roark Capital). Other Inspire QSRs include Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic Drive-In, Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins.
Cross-category rights, perhaps?
Subway activated its NFL rights by supporting the NFL’s flag football and Play 60 youth platforms. The QSR also used costly NFL personalities in its marketing, including Bill Belichick, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
But Subway is a very different company now, even aside from the $9.5B acquisition by Roark in 2023. John Chidsey, CEO since 2020 (the first “outside” exec to head the chain) exited last year. Subway’s sales and the number of locations have been in a downward spiral -- facts made even more evident by growth posted by similar chains like Jersey Mike’s.
Of note: the NFL also has restaurant-related deals with Applebee’s (casual dining) and Little Caesars (pizza).
MLB’s bottled water sponsor, which changed its name to Primo Brands after a merger and going public last November, is adding a quartet of MLB players to its marketing mix this season.
CMO Kheri Tillman called the first year of the three-year sponsorship -- signed in April when the company was still BlueTriton Brands -- a positive. She based that on incremental distribution and the success of a sweepstakes for World Series tickets, which generated more than six million entries -- indicating significant fan/consumer engagement.
The newly merged Primo Brands, with $7 billion in revenue and a market cap of $12.13 billion, is one of the nation’s largest beverage companies with more than 25 water brands. Those MLB rights will mainly support their core spring water brands: Arrowhead, Deer Park, Ozarka, Poland Spring, Ice Mountain and Zephyrhills.
“What we were able to accomplish in that much time is testimony to the fit of the relationship, especially increasing our exposure at retail with display and associated programs,” Tillman said.
New endorsers are Padres OF Fernando Tatís Jr. (Arrowhead); Astros DH Yordan Alvarez (Ozarka); Red SS Elly De La Cruz (Ice Mountain and Pure Life); and Braves 3B Austin Riley (Deer Park). Digital and social campaigns will extend across MLB-controlled digital and social media, along with retailer specific efforts. And naturally, there will be more on-pack promos.
Activation around July’s MLB All-Star Game will include limited-edition aluminum bottles of Deer Park designed by Atlanta artist George F. Baker III.
At Licensing International’s recent summit in NYC, SFIA Senior Director of Business Operations and Research Alex Kerman offered a number of predictions as an addendum to the organization’s industry-standard participation data.
SFIA’s crystal ball forecast the following:
With growing support from the NFL and participation in the 2028 L.A. Olympics as accelerators, flag football (especially girls) is the fastest-growing high school sport, with championships across all 50 states (33 will have them in 2025; 13 has them last year). There is also the eventual status as an NCAA sport. “We’re very bullish, and there’s lots of investment coming,” said Kerman. “For tackle football, the vast majority of participants in high school are boys. For flag, the vast majority in high school are girls.”
“The 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympics will boost U.S. sports participation and [sports] business growth,” Kerman said.
The fastest growing sports overall (see chart) were led by pickleball, which has grown an astounding 311% over the past three years, and is growing across all age groups and is “not just a fad, but a lifetime sport,” according to Kerman. However, racket sports in general are healthy, with tennis (No. 7) and padel are also picking up speed, and overall racquet sports up a leading 9.4%. “We’re bullish on padel becoming the fastest growing sport overall in three to five years.”
Pro leagues in women’s softball, volleyball, lacrosse and hockey will drive grassroots participation, as will the six sports to be introduced/reintroduced in the 2028 Olympics -- baseball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse, softball and squash.
Kerman added that tariffs’ impact on sports participation will likely be uneven. The “high equipment costs will impact participation unevenly,” he said.
I talked to John Slusher about his “full circle,” going from 26 years on the buy side with Nike to his new role selling for U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Properties as CEO.
Ask anyone in sponsorship about the lessons learned from the pandemic and generally they recall them positively. Faced with the first work stoppage across sports, and an absolute questioning of value for any sponsorship asset, the collective memory is one of collaboration.
A reminder from SBJ’s Ben Portnoy about NCAA Corporate Champions/Sponsors that you’ll see all over March Madness -- those that want to advertise must buy a package that includes all 90 NCAA-run championships (not just, say, the women’s hoops tourney or the men’s lacrosse Final Four).
One year after Caitlin Clark helped the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament to record numbers, ad sales for Disney/ESPN are up 132% year-over-year as March Madness gets rolling this week, writes SBJ’s Mollie Cahillane.
Traveller Whiskey wants to continue advertising to NASCAR’s fan base after the Daytona 500 and is in discussions about how to do so, after what it deemed to be a successful first foray into the sport, writes SBJ’s Adam Stern.
Nike continues to dominate as the top jersey and shoe provider of teams in the men’s NCAA Tournament. Nike and its affiliated Jordan Brand are outfitting 41 of the 68 teams in the field (33 Nike, 8 Jordan), down just one team from last year’s 42, reports SBJ’s Rick Ellington.
