SEC schools see bigger checks, Amazon eyes higher sponsorship revenue for TNF and the Coyotes are closer to a cozy rental in Tempe.
David Albright:
The NFL handed out hardware last night, and the Packers quarterback, Aaron Rogers, picked up his fourth MVP award. Couple of other notables were Tennessee's Mike Vrabel as coach of the year and Bengal's QB Joe Burrow was named comeback player of the year. Also announced was the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2022 tackle Tony Boselli, safety Leroy Butler, linebacker Sam Mills, defensive end Richard Seymour, and defensive tackle Bryant Young are the modern era enshrinees. Wide receiver Cliff Branch, former NFL director of officiating Art McNally, and former Rams, Eagles, and Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil were also selected for enshrinement. The class will be formally honored in early August in Canton, Ohio.
Good morning. It's Friday, February 11th. This is your SBJ Morning Buzzcast. I'm David Albright filling in for Abe Madkour. The SEC increased its annual revenue by $105 million during the most recent fiscal year, ending August 31st, 2021. That resulted in distributions to its 14 member schools averaging nearly 55 million per school, an increase of just over nine million per school compared to the distributions the conference reported for its 2020 fiscal year. The SEC's total revenues were just over $830 million. In addition, the SEC provided each of its schools with a $23.3 million advance on future conference distributions in fiscal 21.
Amazon is bringing its new NFL Thursday night football package out to advertisers with a hefty price tag that could cost sponsors as much as 20% more than what they paying for those games on broadcast TV. Over the past two weeks, Amazon has sent proposals to the NFL, which is presenting the options to official sponsors. Amazon has asked for up to 30 million from sponsors, which ad buyers say was an expensive first salvo. Media buyers said that Amazon is offering traditional sponsorships with pre-game, pre-kick, halftime, and post-game slots, and the e-commerce giant appears to be offering advertisers more robust upfront ad deals that go beyond the NFL. Sponsors also would receive ad exposure on other properties like ad-supported streaming channel IMDBTV.
Super Bowl LVI will see some brands make their return to the game after five or more years away, reports our Mike Boylan. As highlighted yesterday, both BMW and Nissan last ran ads in 2015, but will make their return on Sunday with 60-second spots in the first and fourth quarters, respectively. Taco Bell last ran an ad in the super bowl five years ago, but will return Sunday with a 30-second spot featuring rapper Doja Cat that will run in the fourth quarter. Two longest absences from Super Bowl advertising are Gillette, 16 years, and Lays 17, years. Lays will run a 60-second spot that features actors Paul Rudd and Seth Rogan. Gillette will air a 30-second ad during the second quarter highlighting the Gillette razor. Check back with today's SBJ's daily edition for the latest regarding new advertisers and new creative for the Super Bowl, as well as a rundown on where each advertiser will have spots during the game.
Twitch Rivals and the NFLPA are back again at the super bowl for the third iteration of an event dubbed the Streamer Bowl, which began Thursday with brands like Dunkin', Pizza Hut, State Farm, Samsung, and Logitech getting branding at the event at LA Live in downtown. The competition sees popular Twitch streamers and NFL pros in a Fortnite tournament featuring $1 million charity prize pool. Among the notable NFL players participating are Chargers running back Austin Ekeler, Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey, Cardinals quarterback, Kyler Murray, and Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
The Arizona Republic reports that higher education leaders have agreed to a deal that will let the Arizona Coyotes play at a new multipurpose arena at Arizona State University for at least the next three seasons. The Arizona board of regions signed off on the proposal Thursday, paving the way for the NHL franchise play home games in Tempe through 2025, as the team continues to hammer out plans for a permanent home with Tempe city officials. The ASU arena, which is expected to be completed in October, will be less than a third of the size of the Coyotes' current home in Glendale, and the team will have to start its season on the road as ASU documents indicate the arena won't be available for NHL games until December. The Coyotes will make nearly $20 million in capital improvements to build separate locker rooms and upgrade arena equipment. They also will pay an annual fee to lease the space, although that amount is unknown.
UEFA announced a new TV and marketing deal for the Champions League with TEAM Marketing and Relevant Sports Group that will be worth a projected 5.7 billion per season from 2024 to 2027. That's a rise of 40% on the current deal. Under the new agreement, TEAM will sell the TV and commercial rights for UEFA's club competitions, including an expanded Champions League, and Relevant will sell the media rights in the US.
We'll end in a public service note, Sports Business Journal's 2022 celebration of service award recognizes the power sports has on improving society and in building community. This award honors those organizations who have led the way in exemplifying how sport is catalyst for social change. Do you know an organization using the power of sports as a vehicle for good? Go to sportsbusinessjournal.com and search celebration of service award. Nominations will close on March 14th. That's your SBJ Morning Buzzcast for Friday. I hope everybody has a great day and an even better weekend. And we'll see you back here Monday morning.