The National Football League, or the NFL, is one of the world’s biggest and most popular sporting leagues. But if you thought it was just a sports league that organized football teams across the United States, you’re wrong. NFL has turned into a billion-dollar business over the years.
The league has become a huge marketing machine. Each game’s excitement keeps the fans engaged, and the thrill keeps them returning for more. NFL is now a big brand that every American knows about.
That said, the people behind this business won’t have difficulty reaching their target market anymore. They’ve built their empire out of the famous football players, the games themselves,ves, and the league’s long and interesting history.
The Betting Business
The NFL organization isn’t the only one enjoying the benefits of the popularity of football. Many sportsbooks, both online and land-based, are earning significantly throughout the NFL season.
With the rise of online sports betting, many online betting sites profited from the league in recent years. Aside from allowing bettors to place their wagers, online betting sites and apps offer updates about the game and the teams online, which anyone can easily access.
For instance, FanDuel NFL odds are accessible anytime and anywhere if you have a mobile or computer device connected to the internet. With the rise of online betting popularity, many business-minded individuals established online sportsbooks, where many bets come through daily.
Even the owner of some land-based sportsbooks joined the hype and launched their online platform.
Moreover, some websites earn from the NFL just by posting blogs and updates about the game. Behind all of these, the NFL is still the beneficiary at the end of the day. The league doesn’t have to work on marketing because fans, bettors, and sportsbook owners already do it for them.
Imagine how much the league saves from marketing expenses because people already market their brand for free.
Revenue From Media
The majority of NFL revenue is generated from its television and streaming partners. The league sells the broadcasting rights of the sports to broadcasters, including the streaming of the preseason, regular season, and playoff games.
This deal amounts to billions of dollars per season. With the emergence of various forms of media like online streaming apps and websites, the NFL is projected to earn more in the coming years.
The league is guaranteed to earn television money amounting to $126 billion over the next decade. That amount is the league’s revenue from media alone. Many broadcasters are pursuing to acquire a broadcasting right from the NFL as it is the biggest sporting event in America.
Many people will be watching football games through any means of media available to them. That’s why even online streaming media are getting the rights to broadcast NFL games as the league’s official streaming partner.
Profit From Sponsorship
Of all the US sports leagues, the NFL is still the largest and most famous to attract sponsorship. As per the data released by the IEG, the revenue of the NFL from sponsorship grew to $1.9 billion during the 2022-23 season. This leaves the other sports leagues in the dust.
The top sponsor for the NFL is PepsiCo, followed by Anheuser-Busch InBev and Verizon. Aside from these top three spenders for the NFL sponsorship, some other brands and companies are spending huge amounts of money to ride on with the league’s popularity and increase their brand awareness.
Almost all industries are sponsoring the NFL every season. Everyone wants a piece of that popularity and benefits from the hype football games provide every season.
Ticket And Concession Sales
Another means of profit for the NFL is ticket and concession sales. It accounts for a big portion of the NFL team’s revenue. For the ticket sales alone, some teams can even earn millions of dollars already.
With the popularity of the NFL, it’s anticipated that every game will generate thousands of audiences with a ticket price averaging $377. Aside from ticket sales, the NFL is also earning money through concessions.
Given the amount of people watching the game, earning thousands, if not millions, of dollars in food and beverage inside the stadium is possible.
Partnership Revenue
Aside from sponsorship, the NFL is also opening its doors to partnerships. The NFL is partnering with brands and big names in different industries by giving these brands the right to sell items with the NFL name on them.
One of the significant brand partnerships of the NFL is with Nike. The NFL and Nike signed a 10-year licensing contract with Fanatics in 2018. This gave Fanatics the right to officially sell adult-size Nike t-shirts via the NFL’s official online store.
The league and Nike didn’t disclose the value of this partnership. But even though it is only pennies compared to the media deals, it still brings money into the organization.
Bottomline
NFL is a money-making machine that has been built for decades. And now that the league has reached its peak, there are no signs of the organization backing down on making money from this business. With the trust given to them by sponsors, partners, and fans, the NFL is expected to grow even bigger in the coming years.
