The National Football League, New York City, last week cut veteran sponsors Coca-Cola, Miller Brewing Co., and Anheuser-Busch in favor of Pepsi-Cola Co. and Coors Brewing Co.
Purchase, NY-based Pepsi-Cola Co., beat out Coke with a five-year, $200 million bid that earns rights to the NFL, Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, and team logos. Coors, Golden, CO, pushed aside Miller and A-B with a five-year, $300 million offer–reportedly the largest deal in sponsorship history. (Note: Dollar estimates include spending on TV advertising and promotion in addition to rights fees.) Both deals kicked off yesterday, the start of NFL’s fiscal year.
Atlanta-based Coke had sponsored the NFL for 19 years, Milwaukee-based Miller for 18, and St. Louis-based A-B for 12. All three will continue to negotiate with individual NFL teams for local rights and are expected to continue advertising on NFL games, says league spokesperson Brian McCarthy. Coke, which holds sponsorship deals with 20 of the league’s 30 teams, will dedicate more money to youth football programs and other activities. “Our research indicates consumers don’t connect with national sponsorships,” says spokesperson Bill Marks.
The size of the deals had some industry analysts shaking their heads. “I was surprised Pepsi paid so much,” says Bill Chipps, senior editor of “IEG Sponsorship Report” in Chicago. “Fans have an affinity with the individual teams, not the NFL main body. Considering how much Pepsi paid, I think Coke got the better deal.”
“[Coors has] to stay in the game-everyone is getting further and further behind Anheuser-Busch,” says Tom Pirko, head of beverage consulting agency BevMark, Santa Barbara, CA, about the beer deal. “But they’ve paid way too much for something that’s starting to be recognized as not being such a great sponsorship property.”
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