NFL Practice Jersey Sponsorships, an Unnecessary Evil

I am sure by now all of you have read that your favorite NFL team is considering selling sponsorships of its team practice jerseys now that it is blessed by the league.  If you haven’t heard this yet, because you have been wrapped up in the movement of NFL teams to align with their state lotteries, unfortunately it’s true.

I hear what they are saying, “it’s like product integration on a TV series” – but this is not a sitcom.  It’s the NFL; practice jersey sponsorships could cause a crack in the hallowed ground the NFL has built up over the years, all in the name of the almighty dollar.

What if the Houston Texans says “yes” to the adult film company that has made an “attractive” offer, or the Bears or Broncos bring Hooters on as their jersey sponsor?  Try explaining that to your 8 year-old at the dinner table and why he or she can’t have that jersey.  To think about it – does it get any better with Jiffy Lube or Manny, Moe and Jack from Pep Boys?  Not really.  It just doesn’t make sense.  Those would be ridiculous product integrations and the value of the patch, from an impressions perspective, would be zero.  Go ahead Manny, Moe or Jack – run that ROI analysis on the 14 seconds of coverage of an illegible logo gained on the late news in each market a couple of times a week.  In fact, if any corporate sports marketing manager buys into these sponsorships based on the “increased impressions” that the team is selling, then I look forward to selling them a jersey sponsorship for the whiffle ball league I will be starting in my backyard.

The only way that this makes sense is for a local company in each market that is already involved at the practice facility itself – like for Atlantic Health who is already the title sponsor of the Jets’ practice facility.  But, if I am sitting at Atlantic Health, having just committed to spending $75 Million less than a year ago, I am thinking (once the league approved the practice jersey category) that it would have been a nice gesture  for the Jets to have included this as added value to my deal when the ink was barely dry.

Get ready for the Preparation H practice jersey coming to a team near you.