The end of this week’s NFL meetings in Arizona brought about what could be seen as a big crack in the armor for pay gaming and the gridiron. According to Dan Kaplan of Sports Business Journal, the league will allow daily fantasy deals for one year, formalizing a policy that has been more restrictive than the NHL and NBA and had forced several teams into a difficult situation when looking at new in-market revenue streams. The one year deals with companies like FanDuel and DraftKings will have a one year team opt out according to Kaplan, but will open a door that could be very lucrative for individual clubs, especially given the huge dollars that flow into fantasy football already every year. Which teams will formalize agreements now that the option is open remain to be seen, with one, the New England Patriots Jonathan Kraft’s Kraft Sports Group, having an equity stake in Boston-based Draft Kings.
The announcement in Arizona comes at a time when baseball, also with a small stake in fan Duel through MLB Advanced Media, should also be entering into the daily pay fantasy world more than ever before, although league sources say no deal is imminent as Opening Day comes into view this weekend. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said recently that he felt it was time to take a look at all forms of legal wagering as a revenue stream, echoing the statements that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has made in recent months as well.
The NFL meanwhile has been the most silent on any kind of pay fantasy or gambling talk, with its owners most concerned about the ill-will that could be fostered from gambling talk, especially coming off a recent period of negative publicity that has damaged the NFL shield, but not its coffers. Whether one year deals will reap a windfall for fantasy businesses who choose to align themselves with teams remains to be seen, but the amount of money spent in marketing to NFL fans through broadcast and digital buys by the two biggest players in the market was at record levels in the tens of millions last year. Official designations with teams would allow any company to use the marks of their respective partner and could open up digital and in-stadium activation, but without a longer play the company runs a big risk of losing equity should the league change its stance, or create a league-wide partnership beyond 2016.
Regardless, the openness to accept pay fantasy partners is a signal of an acceptance trend that seems to be a long time in coming, and could be yet another escalation in a business, pay fantasy and legalized gambling, which many experts say could be a billion dollar industry within five years