NFL sponsorship revenue grew to $1.15bn in 2014 season despite domestic abuse controversy
National Football League (NFL) sponsorship revenue grew 7.8 per cent to 1.15bn in the 2014 season despite high-profile domestic abuse incidences within the league.
Last year, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was suspended from the NFL after being charged with assault. TMZ released a video of the player knocking his fiancée (now wife) unconscious in a casino elevator.
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was suspended from the league after being charged with child abuse last September, but the NFL recently announced that it will reinstate the player after a judge overturned the NFL’s decision.
Spending increased nearly twice as much as the 4.2 per cent increase in the overall sponsorship industry despite the controversies. NFL sponsorship revenue was also substantially above the 4.9 per cent increase in the sports category.
William Chipps, IEG Sponsorship Report senior editor, said: “Corporate interest in the NFL is seemingly immune to off-field controversy.”
The league signed three new sponsors during the 2014 season: Dannon, TD Ameritrade, and Nationwide Insurance.
Insurance companies are 6.7 times more likely to sponsor the NFL compared to the average of all sponsors, according to IEG Research. Quick-service restaurants are the second most active category followed by automakers.
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