Category Archives: NFL

Incognito says NFL system is bogus, Goodell has too much power

Richie Incognito shared his thoughts on how the National Football League (NFL) investigate misconduct, comparing his case to Deflategate.

In November 2013, NFL hired Ted Wells, the NFL’s go to scandal investigator, to look at the bullying allegations that Jonathan Martin had made against a few of his Dolphins teammates—Incognito, John Jerry and Mike Pouncey.

In an interview with Newsday, Incognito talked about how the NFL investigates misconduct, and compared his case to Tom Brady’s four-month long Deflategate investigation. He accuses Wells of not being independent.

“I just think it’s bogus, the whole system in how it’s set up with Roger and the complete, absolute power he has,” Incognito said. “He has so much power and he hires independent investigators who come in and are obviously not independent. They come in with an agenda and they come in looking to find facts to back up their argument. All the facts are slanted in their favor.

NFL, DOJ past argument shows sports betting to be a “game of skill”

According to documents discovered by ESPN through searches of public records, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and NFL lawyers have called sports betting a “game of skill” in past legal arguments.

In 2003, the NFL was among several groups attempting to prevent the state of Delaware from reintroducing a football-based lottery game. The NFL hired the law firm of Covington & Burlington to argue against allowing such bets, characterizing the football-based lottery as a predominately skill-based game, and therefore would be barred by the state’s own constitution.

“Sports betting combines both skill and chance, but the element of chance, though perhaps significant, is not ‘dominant,’” the Covington & Burlington lawyers wrote in a 2003 memo to the Delaware legislature. “Typical sports bettors gather and analyze information, sometimes in significant quantities, about the nuances of the sports on which they bet…they then weight the probabilities of each team winning and compare their determinations to those of the odds-maker.”

A similar argument was made by Lynch in the United States v. DiCristina in 2013, explaining how certain sports bettors move betting lines, a technique similar to bluffing in poker.

Cancelled fantasy sports expo sues NFL for “blatant and premeditated sabotage”

The National Football League will have to justify its hypocritical anti-gambling stance in court.

On Monday, a Texas-based company named The Fan Expo LLC sued the NFL in US District Court in Dallas County. Fan Expo is seeking over $1m in damages related to last month’s abrupt cancellation of the National Fantasy Football Convention (NFFC).

The three-day convention, which was to feature Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and a host of other NFL stars, was scrapped one month before it was set to kick off after the NFL ‘reminded’ the NFL Players Association of its longstanding policy of not associating the NFL brand with gambling.

The NFFC was scheduled to take place at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas, a non-gaming appendage to Las Vegas Sands’ Venetian Resort Hotel Casino. But the NFL insisted that this proximity contravened its policy of preventing its players from engaging in “promotional activities or other appearances at or in connection with events that are held at or sponsored by casinos.”

The Double Standard in Sports and Gambling

By Terry Lyons @terrylyons, Contributing columnist @TheDailyPayoff

The landscape is riddled with double standards, hypocrisy, deceit and public posturing. No, we’re not calling out the politicians and law-makers, we’re talking about sports and sports gambling.
The North American sports industry has a lot of different policies on gambling. Let’s list a few.
There’s a policy for sports gambling in Nevada.
There are federal policies for Delaware, Montana and Oregon that allow for lottery-type games and parlay tickets. There was a similar policy for New Jersey, but state legislators failed to move on that loophole back in 1992 and are now trying to carve out an entire new approach for sports wagering while they continue to offer other forms of gambling and poker-play online to Jersey residents and in-the-flesh in Atlantic City.
There are policies for horse racing. There are policies for Off Track Betting parlors affiliated with horse racing.
There are policies for Native American tribal casinos.
There are different policies for many of the Canadian provinces, some of which have NBA or NHL teams and many which offer parlay wagering similar to offerings in Delaware.
There are policies for international games played, ever so frequently, in London, Mexico and other global destinations by the major North American sports leagues.
There are policies for international play where the Man United’s, Real Madrid’s and FC Barcelona’s along with the FIFA’s and FIBA’s of the world all have top-level bookmaker sponsorships with fully established and, in many cases, public companies like William Hill or BWIN.
There are policies for players.
There are policies for coaches and managers.
There are policies for front office and league personnel.
Some of those very policies drift over to the fantasy sports world where the leagues, their teams and broadcast outlets are making bold and strategic moves to cash in on the craze. The message conveyed is that it’s quite all right to take equity positions, rake in tons of sponsorship dollars, create fantasy gaming lounges and signage, but it’s hands-off for the players, coaches and office-workers.
I’m okay with that. In many cases, contest rules call for employees and their immediate families to refrain from entering the contests to allow the paying customers every possible chance of winning the big prizes without so much as a doubt that an “insider” would have access to the same jackpot.
But here is where the hypocrisy train leaves the station.
For one New York minute, don’t you think the owners, trainers, grooms and jockeys, roaming the back-stretch, have a few bucks on the races?
And, it’s not just horse racing we’re focusing on, here.
It’s perfectly acceptable for professional and amateur golfers to put down a few bucks on practice rounds or trick shots and nobody thinks twice. All in fun, and usually for stakes as low as $1 or maybe as high as $20, Phil Mickelson will have the gallery roaring with laughter on a missed “up and down,” as he did last August at the Barclays Championship in New Jersey.
While Mickelson’s antics with the fans, surely done all in fun, are no different than what takes place on nearly every weekend, on every hole of every golf course in the land, his more – shall we say – aggressive gambling on the NFL and other sports, done legally in Las Vegas, might be of more concern.
Why is Pete Rose vilified for his gambling on baseball and other sports, but Mickelson and Floyd Mayweather are beloved for their frequently boasts about a big hauls in Vegas on specific games or a successful futures bet?
Why can Maurice Jones-Drew be the voice of Fantasy Radio on Sirius XM satellite radio one day but Tony Romo and a group of NFL players were not able to attend a fantasy sports convention organized by a Vegas hotel promoter? Meanwhile, by the way, the NBA Summer League, USA Basketball training camp and the league meetings were putting up the tents at the Wynn Resort.
When basketball’s World Cup or the Olympics roll around, FIBA’s official sponsor BWIN will be taking action on the game in all corners of the earth, sans the almighty U.S.of A.Come this September 20th, BWIN will be taking wagers on the European Championship (qualifier for the 2016 Rio Summer Games) where pros and amateurs roam the courts, but should  someone mention wagering on college basketball-aged players in North America and ghosts of Henry Hill will surely hunt you down and haunt your Uncle Paulie.
At least, the NBA’s progressive Commissioner Adam Silver has come out to publicly state his long-range viewpoint and his desire to properly prepare for and regulate gaming, preferably on a Federal level rather than going State-by-State or Province-by-Province (in Canada) with different laws on the books. Silver’s NBA made a strategic equity play to back DFS provider Fan Duel and many sports Venture Capital funds – some of the coffers backed by team owners in all of the sports – are lining up for strategic plays in gaming, igaming and tech.
Isn’t it time for the hypocrisy to end? Isn’t it time for the commissioners of the four major pro sports of North America to come to terms with the issue, following Silver’s giant-step lead from his self-penned article in the New York Times? Isn’t the facade of DFS gaming just the taxiway to the promised land of full-scale sports wagering worldwide?
In a truly global economy, shouldn’t the gaming laws of the United States and Canada reflect the laws of Europe, Asia, South America and Australia?
Don’t bet on it happening anytime real soon.

Steelers submit application to host Super Bowl in 2023

The Pittsburgh Steelers has officially submitted its application with the National Football League (NFL) to host the Super Bowl LVII at Heinz Field in 2023.

News of the application surfaced when Steelers president Art Rooney II met with Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and other community leaders.

Rooney confirmed through a statement on Wednesday that the team formally applied in May.

“We met this morning with local community leaders to provide an update on formally submitting our application to the NFL to bid for Super Bowl LVII in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania,” said Rooney.“The application is an early step in the bidding process, and we will continue to meet with representatives of the Mayor’s Office, County Executive’s Office, VisitPittsburgh, Allegheny Conference as well as other community leaders to review the requirements with the hopes of submitting our bid to host Super Bowl LVII in 2023.”

FanDuel Grows NBA Platform

By @TheDailyPayoff

While DraftKings relationship with MLB and their enhancements in golf have given them great buzz this early summer, FanDuel continues its focus on the winter and its two core sports, says its chief executive.
CEO Nigel Eccles said football and basketball remain its focus, taking the opportunity with the NBA Draft Thursday to announced an expansion of its NBA partnerships for the fall at Tuesday’s FSTA Conference in New York,

FanDuel locked in exclusive multi-year partnerships with 13 league franchises – the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz.
The deal hands FanDuel marketing assets from in-arena digital signage and in-game promotions to digital, TV and radio advertising, among other branding initiatives. FanDuel will also collaborate with the individual organizations to continue to bring unique experiences to fans, including exclusive player meet-and-greets and VIP road trips to events.
“Partnering with these NBA organizations has been an incredible asset to FanDuel’s growth and business. NBA fans comprise a younger, mobile-centric demographic, looking for new ways to engage with their favorite sport, teams and athletes throughout the duration of the season, which is exactly what they get on FanDuel,” said Nigel Eccles, CEO and co-founder, in a release. “We’re going to keep partnering with franchises that recognize FanDuel’s ability to keep fans in their seat with their eyes glued to every game because they have a player on their fantasy team that night.”

During the conference the value of pay fantasy was again backed up by NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum in an interview with Eric Fisher of The Sports Business Journal.
“We have made our stance clear that we do not see pay fantasy as gambling, and it is a prime way for us to engage deeper with our fans,” Tatum said. “Our fans and our teams have made it clear that this is a growing engagement platform and we are excited about continuing to work to enhance our relationship.”

While not exclusive with the NBA, FanDuel has made it clear that their key business objectives and their growth strategy is revolving around the activation and engagement with the NBA, as well as their recently announced partnerships with a majority of the NFL teams. The NFL remains the least engaged league in an official capacity in pay fantasy, with MLB having taken up an equity position with DraftKings and Fan Duel with the NBA. Several NBA teams, including the New York Knicks, have chosen to partner with DraftKings as part of a wider cross-promotional strategy, but Eccles remains bullish on the overall basketball relationship as the core of Fan Duel’s platform in 2015 and beyond.

High Stakes Game in TV Ratings

By TERRY LYONS, contributing columnist @TheDailyPayoff
@terrylyons

American Pharoah’s run to the Triple Crown grabbed our fair share of attention recently, watching intently as the once-in-a-generation thoroughbred won graded stakes at Churchill Downs, Pimlico and Belmont Raceway.

American Pharoah delivered on the track, but his Triple Crown win translated into only 18.6 million television viewers on NBC, down from the 20.6 million fans who tuned into California Chrome’s failed bid at The Belmont in 2014. When Pharoah had the Triple Crown on the line at The Belmont, you might’ve thought the stakes were as high as they’d get ,but as spring turns to summer and the stretch-run at Belmont is in the rearview, there’s no higher stakes in professional sports than that of the TV ratings game.

Certainly the National Hockey League and NBC benefitted from a strong audience lead-in from The Belmont, as Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final calculated a tune-in of 6.6 million viewers for Game 2 of the series between the Tampa Bay Lightening and Chicago Blackhawks, the strongest non-clinching game TV audience since 1994. The data will improve as the Stanley Cup series, split 2-2 as of this writing, moves on to Tampa for a pivotal fifth game.

Meanwhile, after the longest break in NBA playoff history between the Conference Finals and the NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of a memorable NBA Finals series, with MVP Steph Curry of the Warriors and the league’s best player, Lebron James of the Cavs doing battle on the court. However, the real numbers are being crunched off the court by the Disney Corporation, the caretakers of ABC Sports, cash cow cable entity ESPN and the NBA on ESPN property.

As of this writing, the 2015 NBA Finals are the highest-rated ever on ABC with Game 4 delivering a 13.9 overnight rating to be joined with the league’s soaring numbers after the first three games of the Finals. Those ratings points translate to some 18.6 million viewers turning into the series, with the numbers — like the NHL’s — sure to go up as the league is guaranteed no fewer than six games to determine the champion.

Delving deeper into the NBA on ABC numbers, the Nielsen ratings in Game 4 were up 31 percent from the Miami vs. San Antonio numbers of a year ago with the ABC ratings averaging 13.1 (overnight), up some 26 percent over 2014. Of course, those are record-setting numbers for ABC Sports and do not factor against the record numbers the NBA did when NBC Sports carried the property. During that run, veteran broadcast chief Dick Ebersol put the pedal to the metal to promote Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to the tune of a Game 6 1998 NBA Finals record rating of 18 No fewer than 30 million tuned into the NBA from United States households, alone, never mind the growing international audience for basketball.

To be clear, the television ratings game of the winter-spring sports, such as horse racing, ice hockey and basketball cannot and will not compete with the television audience for the NFL’s biggest game – The Super Bowl. Last February, the New England Patriots exciting victory over the Seattle Seahawks saw a Nielsen rating blockbuster of 47.5 that translated to a US audience of 114.4 million viewers for the NFL and TV’s biggest audience of the year. Quite simply, there will never be a sporting audience viewing a game on TV that is larger than the NFL’s Super Bowl audience.

The other interesting point of comparison in the high stakes ratings game for televised sports properties in Major League Baseball which saw an 8.2 ratings average and 13.8 million viewers tune into the 2014 World Series, according to Sports Media Watch. Between Jordan’s last game in 1998 and 2008, the World Series consistently out-rated the NBA Finals. But, over the past five years (2010-2014), the NBA Finals has out-rated Major League Baseball’s World Series and the trend is surely going to continue in 2015, unless October brings about a miracle story (Insert Chicago Cubs joke here!)

One other interesting factor in televised sports ratings is to look at the numbers from the competing local markets. In Cleveland, Game 4 of the NBA Finals generated a 45.7 rating for the 20+ point Golden State blowout of the Cavs. In the Bay Area (SF market), the broadcast delivered a solid 30.5 rating. Pretty amazing audience numbers for the NBA which was largely criticized, especially by NASCAR and Fox Sports tv executives, when the 2003 NBA Finals drew all-time ratings lows of 6.5 for the New Jersey Nets vs. San Antonio Spurs series.
That was a long time ago.

Tony Romo slams National Football League’s casino puritanism

The National Football League seems hell-bent on living up to its unofficial ‘No Fun League” nickname.

On Tuesday, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo went on ESPN to protest the NFL’s forced cancellation of the National Fantasy Football Convention at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas. Romo, who was the headline attraction among multiple NFL players scheduled to attend the event, expressed regret at the league having seen fit to ‘remind’ the NFL Players Association of the league’s intermittently enforced policy against association of its brand with casinos.

Romo complained that the NFL hadn’t bothered to reach out to either the NFFC’s organizers or himself and suggested that the way it was handled “does make it sound sometimes like it’s an issue about money, which is disappointing.” Romo accused the NFL of “almost scaring” the players scheduled to attend the NFFC, which to Romo “just seems silly” and “makes you think it was just about money.”

Las Vegas Sands spokesman Ron Reese joined in the skewering, saying the NFL “has a credibility gap on this issue the size of the Grand Canyon.” Reese noted the number of NFL teams that had inked partnerships with daily fantasy sports operators “but a convention in Las Vegas is a bridge too far? It’s about time the NFL comes down from its ivory tower.”

NFL scraps fantasy sports convention; NHL commissioner’s sports betting myopia

Hypocrisy was on full display on Friday as the National Football League forced the cancellation of a fantasy sports convention and the National Hockey League’s boss revealed a hugely selective blind spot.

On Friday, word spread that the NFL had pulled the rug out from underneath a fantasy football convention that was scheduled to take place in July at a casino in Las Vegas. The National Football Fantasy Convention (NFFC), a three-day affair fronted by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo along with a number of other NFL players in attendance, was to be held at the Sands Expo, a convention space offshoot of Las Vegas Sands’ Venetian Resort Hotel Casino.

The NFCC released a statement saying they were “postponing” their inaugural event until July 2016 due to “sudden and unexpected opposition taken by the NFL concerning player participation and their perceived association with gambling for an event in Las Vegas.” The NFCC says its 2016 event will now take place in Los Angeles.

An NFL spokesman told Fox Sports that “players and NFL personnel may not participate in the promotional activities or other appearances or in connection with events that are held at or sponsored by casinos.” For the record, Sands Expo contains no gambling facilities.

Yahoo to offer first free live stream of NFL regular season

Internet colossus Yahoo has won exclusive rights to deliver the first-ever free and live streaming of National Football League (NFL) regular season to users worldwide.

Yahoo will broadcast the October 25th International Series game between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars from London’s Wembley Stadium.

The parties did not disclose the deal amount, but Re/Code reported that Yahoo could have paid at least $20m to stream the game in exchange for advertising rights, citing executives who were familiar with the industry.

The NFL has advertising partnerships with NBC and FOX but for the first time, the NFL games will be streaming one of its regular season games online.

Deflategate Suspension Shifts Odds on Patriots’ Super Bowl Chances

By Frank Scandale @Fscandale @TheDailyPayoff
Las Vegas odds makers say the four-game suspension meted out to Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady triggered adjustments in their outlook on the Super Bowl champs repeating, but all bets are off on final lines until an appeal is heard.
For those who put the season opener against Pittsburgh back on the board, their point spread against Pittsburgh also got much tighter.
All of this might have been expected given untested, back-up quarterback Jimmy Garappolo is the likely on-deck replacement. But what is still uncertain for odds makers is how many games ultimately Brady will be suspended on appeal, which was filed by Brady Thursday and agreed to be heard personally by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

That decision by Goodell is in itself a controversy, as the players’ union had urged the commission to appoint a neutral party.

All this drama is being played out in public while sports books such as Johnny Avello, executive director of race and sports operations at Wynn Las Vegas, are busy adjusting lines and watching this like a Shakespearean play. Avello said after the news came out on the lengthy suspension, he made adjustments to who wins Super Bowl, dropping the odds for the Patriots from 7-1 to 9-1.

Johnny Avello Horizontal 2 4Mg

“I was giving the odds at 5-2 to win the AFC conference and now it’s 4-1,” Avello added. “The reason is if they miss him for four games, the other teams could get possible jumps. Miami, Jets, Buffalo all have been lowered a bit…if it is two games, I’ll back off a little bit, maybe go to 8-1.”
The opening game is Pittsburgh and without Brady Avello says its a pick ’em game. The second game at Buffalo will be “difficult.” Jacksonville is up next and at home and he gives the Pats a win there, but the fourth game (after the bye week) is a tough game with Dallas.
“They could be 2-2 after four games if he’s not around, Avello said. “The Super Bowl champs get a tougher schedule.”
He also believes the Pats will not look for another quarterback.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Vaccaro, head of South Point Casino’s Race and Sports Marketing division, said the point spread for the Patriots-Steelers opener dropped to 1.5 from six points once the suspension was announced.
“Brady can move a game about six points. But with lots of time to prepare, and you adjust for the Superbowl win, we move it up a tick, Vaccaro said. “As for the rest of the division…the Jets, Bills and Miami, they are all about even. So now if you put the four games without Brady, the division up for grabs. We are just waiting an seeing how many games this suspension will be.”

Jimmy Vaccaro

Jimmy Vaccaro

Bookmakers in general had the Patriots to win 10.5 games prior to the suspension but now lowered to 10 games on the over/under.
”You have to remember that Tom Brady is the top quarterback in the league, but you can’t throw away the rest of the team. It is still a Superbowl winning team.”

Jay Kornegay, vice president of race and sports operations at Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino, said originally there was not much of an adjustment planned as nothing in the investigation suggested a four-game suspension was likely.

Jay Kornegay

Jay Kornegay

“We were thinking a fine and a one-game suspension,” said Kornegay, a lifelong Broncos fan and Colorado self-professed “homer.” “And a one-game suspension would make minor adjustments.”
Once The Wells report came out, Kornegay took the opening game against the Steelers off the board, where the Pats had been a six-point favorite.
“Once they announced four games, it was chaos for day and we had to make adjustments,” he said.
Additional fallout included raising the Super Bowl champs’ odds for a repeat to 8-1 from 7-1 after the suspension was announced. They also simultaneously changed the Denver Broncos line to 12-1 from 14-1 on the news.
The odds of the Pats winning the AFC conference was raised to 7-2 from 3-1, as well.
Oddsmakers explained the reason for the relatively minor adjustments was because they knew Brady would appeal and there’s a good chance the suspension would be reduced.

“These numbers are based on a two-game reduction already factored into this line,” Kornegay said, adding the line would be adjusted again if the four games are upheld.
Though initially Westgate took the Patriots-Steelers game off the board, it is now back on with the Patriots a two-point favorite. Why?
“They’ve done this before with Matt Cassel (2008 season when Brady got injured in the opener and was out all season) and won about 10 or 11 games (11 actually). They’ll be at home and they’ll be a lot of emotion there.”
He also thinks Coach Bill Belichick will come out blazing with something to prove.

Now, let’s see what the line is on that bet.

 

Tom Brady suspended four games, Patriots fined $1m over ‘DeflateGate’

The National Football League has suspended New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for his role in the ‘DeflateGate’ scandal.

On Monday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell banned Brady for the first four games of the upcoming season, citing “conduct detrimental to the integrity of the NFL.” Brady stood accused of a conspiracy to deflate footballs to below the 12.5 pounds per square inch minimum imposed by the NFL because Brady prefers throwing a softer ball, particularly in wet weather.

While Brady can continue to practice with the team and take part in preseason games, he will miss the season opener against the Steelers plus games against the Bills, Jaguars and Cowboys. Brady’s first game back will be against the Colts in Indianapolis on Oct. 18.

The NFL also fined Brady’s New England Patriots $1m and confiscated two draft picks – next year’s first rounder and a fourth-rounder in 2017. The fine matches the $1m leveled against 49ers owner Ed DeBartolo Jr. after he pled guilty to a felony charge for his role in a Louisiana riverboat casino license scandal. Pats coach Bill Belichick was fined $500k in 2007 for videotaping other teams’ defensive signals and the team forfeited a first-round draft pick.

NFL to suspend Brady for undetermined period over ‘DeflateGate’ scandal

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is facing suspension by the National Football League as punishment for his role in the ‘DeflateGate’ scandal, according to media reports.

On Friday, the New York Daily News reported that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell plans to announce Brady’s penalty this coming week. Sources told the paper that Goodell was left with little choice following the NFL’s investigation of allegations that Patriots staffers deliberately deflated game balls to below league-mandated minimums to suit Brady’s preferences.

This past week saw the release of the Wells Report, which concluded that it was “more probable than not that New England Patriots personnel participated in violations of the Playing Rules and were involved in a deliberate effort to circumvent the rules.”

Despite Brady’s refusal to provide investigator Ted Wells with his emails, texts or phone records, Wells concluded that Brady was “generally aware” of the actions of the two staffers and that Brady’s protestations to the contrary were “implausible.”

Beats and Burger King Steal the Show on An Amazing Sports Weekend

By Joe Favorito @Joefav @TheDailyPayoff

The first few days of May brought its share of interesting sports stories, from boxing to horses and plenty in between.
However from a sports business perspective, two surprising pops certainly deserved recognition for their ingenuity and creativeness.

Starting with the banning of journalists not just from the Pacquiao -Mayweather fight but from the PGA Tour (Stephanie Wei), the weekend included Yankee Alex Rodriguez tying Willie Mays’ homerun and the firestorm of recognition or non-recognition the Yankees will use, a new Kentucky Derby Champion, and amazing endings in the NBA and NHL Playoffs.

But on the business side of things, some thoughts to mull over.

Beats Beats The League Sponsor: A growing phenomenon with the NFL Draft (and it will be interesting to see if it also happens with the NBA Draft) is the issue of the top picks choosing to control their own ceremony and avoid showing up when their name is called on Draft Day. Once an honored rite of passage, top players have chosen to stay away and do their own controlled celebrating remotely, with this year both Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota deciding to forego the traditional handoff of the jersey and avoid all the trappings of Chicago for locales of their own.

Now while that may seem to be unique for the draftees, it creates an environment for ambush marketing that is almost unparalleled, and Beats By Dre certainly took advantage of not one, but three top draft picks (still unsigned and not beholden to league rules with regard to sponsorship at official events) being able to sport their gear.

Mariota released a Beats by Dre commercial hours before the draft, but topped that by sporting his own headphones live on national TV during his official call from the Tennessee Titans. Meanwhile ,Winston held a pair of red Beats when picked by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and fourth pick Amari Cooper did the same during his selection money shot.

While there is little the league can do other than find new and innovative ways to appease league sponsors like Bose with added value down the line, the remote announcement of top stars could lead to a whole new issue with brand piracy and augmentation as more players chose to avoid the official celebration at Draft and carve their own identity from a remote location.

Beats again scored big and beat the system on Draft Night like they had done in previous year’s pre-Bose with Richard Sherman, Colin Kaepernick and with the London Olympics. Other ambush brands take note.

Floyd and The King: All the hype that went into Pacquiao-Mayweather I (any doubt there will be a II or even a III?) became a great deal of white noise as the bout finally came around, as commentators ran out of pre-fight stories and behind the scenes looks hours before the two superstars entered the ring in Las Vegas. So as the cameras turned to the fight entrances, speculation started swirling on who would end up in whose entourage on the way to the ring. From Kimmel to Bieber, the unique and the bizarre found their way into the lens, and then suddenly there he was, the most bizarre of all, The Burger King.

It wasn’t some legendary fighter of the past, it was the costumed, somewhat strange looking image of the massive burger chain character himself, suddenly popping up before millions, just behind Floyd Mayweather as he made his way in. Then in a flash, he was gone.

Now there certainly wasn’t any shortage of brands that looked to make their way into and on the shorts, the trainers clothes, and the ring for the fight, all battling NASCAR-like for the right positioning as the fighters made their way into view for the pay-per-view and the global audience. But The Burger King? On a day when YUM Brands and its chains were front and center with their Kentucky Derby Sponsorship, Burger King (assuming it was a paid sponsorship and not some bizarre coincidence) suddenly stole the social world in the minutes leading up to the fight, something which is next to impossible to do in such a controlled atmosphere for an event that was not even on commercial or traditional broadcast television.

What made it even more unique was there was no real own up on behalf of BK corporate or its agency Scout Sports and Entertainment, part of Horizon Media (which is rumored to have brokered the guerilla-like appearance on behalf of their client) as of Sunday night.

Was it a one off? Is the King going to pop up in other unique locales as part of a new and fun rebrand for the chain? How much was invested and what was the timing? Who was in the suit? All of which will probably be answered in the coming days, but for timing, buzz and uniqueness, the Burger King insertion may have been the best, and most unique, scene stealer from a day of amazing events in sports business.

Now neither of these two brand enhancements happened in a vacuum for sure. They were well thought out, well timed and professionally done. While many brands try to make things “happen,” great execution takes time, money and forethought, and for those reasons beats By Dre and Burger King owned the day at their respective times, and certainly set the stage for who or what can come along next when the eyes of the world turn to athletes and big events in the coming weeks.

Preakness, NHL Finals, The Players Championship, you are up next.

FanDuel gets name on Mayweather’s trunks, seeks 16th NFL team deal

Daily fantasy sports operator FanDuel has purchased branding rights on boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s trunks for his fight against Manny Pacquiao on May 2.

On Thursday, EPSN reported that FanDuel had purchased the rights to have its name on the belt line of Mayweather’s trunks. FanDuel didn’t disclose how much it paid to get that close to Floyd’s crotch but the deal comes with six tickets to the fight, valued at $10k apiece, that will be given away in pairs to the winners of three upcoming fantasy contents. The winners of these contests will also receive free hotel, airfare and a meet-and-greet with Floyd himself.

FanDuel hasn’t been shy about spending its investors’ capital on pricey sports tie-ups. This week the company announced it had pushed the number of mutli-year sponsorship agreements it has reached with National Football League teams to 15 and another deal with the Chicago Bears is in the works. FanDuel’s rival DraftKings has a comparatively paltry three NFL deals.

However, the NFL’s vehemently anti-betting stance means FanDuel’s deals don’t come with the visibility FanDuel would have preferred. While FanDuel will enjoy stadium signage, radio and digital advertising, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told USA Today that FanDuel’s deals are similar to deals teams have struck with casinos – no NFL team logos or adverts on FanDuel’s website and FanDuel can’t identify itself as an ‘official’ team or league sponsor.

Sportradar signs partnership with NFL; Betclic inks with French basketball

Sportradar US has secured a multi-year partnership with the National Football League, paving the way for the sports data and content provider to become the exclusive distributor of NFL statistics to digital outlets. The deal is set to begin in the 2015 NFL season.

Sportradar’s responsibilities will include supplying official real-time scores, player statistics and play-by-play data. Likewise, Sportradar will also distribute the NFL’s new Next Gen Stats tracking system. The advanced, real-time analytical data provided by Next Gen Stats includes measurements like speed, acceleration and distance travelled for all players.

“Next Gen Stats is an exciting initiative that adds tremendous breadth and depth to our sport, NFL Vice President of Media Strategy and Business Development Vishal Shah said in a statement. “ The ability to partner with Sportradar US, with its focus on technology and high quality data distribution, enables the NFL to bring these great experiences to the rapidly growing sports data market and our fans.”

The deal with the NFL also gives Sportradar US a tremendous platform to showcase its capabilities since the football league is widely considered as the most popular sports league in the US. “This deal is an important milestone for our company and in particular underlines our commitment to securing a leading position in the US sports data market,” Sportradar US president Ulrich Harmuth said. “We are thrilled to partner with the NFL in developing a completely new data category that will boost the fan experience as well as improve how the NFL and its partners interact with their fans.”

iGaming North America 2015 Day Three Recap

The third day of iGaming North America was a successful one, especially considering it was the last day of a three day stretch in Las Vegas.  Two good moves by the organizers were the addition of the iGaming North America Awards during lunch and holding a legalization of sports betting panel at the tail end of the event, both keeping a decent number of attendees on site (and out of the casinos).

When reflecting on the three days here in Vegas, what’s clear is Fantasy Sports is an incredibly hot topic in our industry today.  Jason Robins had an entourage of people following him after his session on Day 1 and today’s Fantasy Sports session enjoyed a full house despite its early hour.

The panel, “Expectations for the Maturing Fantasy Sports Industry” featured Paul Charchian, President of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA), a professional who has been involved in the fantasy sports industry for twenty years.

Charchian confirmed the explosive growth in Fantasy has a lot to do with the birth of Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) thanks to industry giants Draft Kings and FanDuel.  “ESPN’s most hit area of the site is fantasy football”, pointed out Charchian.

IS NFL EYEING LEGALIZED GAMBLING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC?

 

Is the NFL inching closer to joining the NBA in the push for legalized sports wagering? Depends on whom you talk to.

Late last week commissioner Roger Goodell announced that teams will be allowed to do one-year pay fantasy deals for the 2015 season, all of which will be subject to review after the season. While not a huge value proposition for the long-term yet, it does open a door that had been closed for a much-needed new revenue stream for teams.

Only a few teams have inked deals so far of some sort with fantasy outfits. The Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots, each inked deals last fall with Draft Kings. Most most other clubs still deferring on what and how the decision will be made.

Patrick Smyth of the Broncos public relations office, said the team signed on with Draft Kings, one of the two big players in the Fantasy arena, last fall for good reason.

“The decision to become involved with fantasy sports provided an opportunity for us to engage and connect with our fans through a new and growing avenue,” Smyth said. “we moved forward with our partnership after consulting with the league office.”

At the time of the signing, the team explained that daily games and contests were the next frontier for fantasy sports, and that this would be another way for fans to engage with the sport and the team they love. The Patriots expressed similar reasons for being the first team in the NFL to partner with a fantasy operation.

According to a story last fall in the Boston Globe, the Patriots said then “many of our fans in the stadium are playing daily fantasy sports, and we want to provide them with the most up-to-date information.” http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/10/16/draftkings/5E2bKV1bzN2103jl1lg7BO/story.html

Calls to a dozen NFL teams seeking comment about their status with fantasy sports were mostly unreturned. Two said they had no comment at this time.

The New York Giants’ Pat Hanlon did say while the team had no comment at this point, ” It’s a matter we will be discussing internally once we have all the details of what is allowable.”

Another more intriguing issue is if the NFL and other leagues like the NBA, who play games in markets like London where legal gaming is allowed, will take a big step in 2015 and license an official local betting partner. With the NFL now holding regular season games and promoting more to a global audience, a natural next step could be to pull in dollars, legal dollars, in places where the games are played.

Speaking at the Sportel Conference in Miami two weeks ago, NFL EVP of International Mark Waller was somewhat evasive and very cautious on the subject.

“Right now we are looking at all options as we should as a business, but to say the NFL will license gambling or create a partnership anywhere with a legal bookmaker is not on the table,” he said. There have been rumors that both the NFL and the NBA would sign deals this coming summer, creating a new revenue stream and again testing the waters for what legal dollars good flow in from legalized sports gambling, but right now both leagues have been relatively silent on the matter.

If the leagues were to sign deals to license their marks, it would raise an intriguing question for a state like Nevada, which currently does not have any of the four professional sports playing in the state, but is pushing hard to add the NHL with a new arena.

In year’s past, when teams like the Los Angeles Lakers played regular season games in Las Vegas, sports books would not take legal bets on the games. Now in a changing landscape, a move to have a legal betting partner abroad could open the door for a legal Nevada partner by the leagues, especially for the NHL, in advance of any federal law change to allow sports betting across the board. A host of other states continue to challenge the Federal law on sports gambling, but as of now Nevada remains the only place in the US where sports betting is legal and regulated.

Quietly some of the worlds largest betting houses have set up operations in the United States and continue to monitor the activity with regard to sports betting and pay fantasy while staying engaged in legal betting operations in sports like horse racing and poker.

Casinos are also looking for the added bump sports gambling could bring as a way to enhance team partnerships that have been in place for years as well. Is the NFL’s cautious toe in the water with pay fantasy a next step in taking the public temperature for legalized gambling and will their overseas games open other doors? Right now most are silent, but it will remain a key story to watch for when the pads go back on later this spring across America.

The issue of teams signing deals with fantasy companies came alive again last week when Daniel Kaplan of The Sports Business  Journal wrote that the league was making it clear to teams they could ink one-year deals.

Kaplan wrote that the league told teams they could sign daily fantasy deals during the league’s annual meeting in Arizona.

The league said it wanted to formalize its position because it did not have a policy in that category.

Kaplan quoted an email by Brian McCarthy, the NFL’s VP/Communications, saying, “With more teams signing advertising deals last year the league reviewed the overall landscape and made a proposal to enable all clubs to explore potential arrangements. It would be for one year.”

  

Frank Scandale @Fscandale contributed to this report.

FanDuel wins legal battle with DraftKings; NFL imposes rule on fantasy sports ads

National Advertising Division (NAD) has recommended that DraftKings stop its claim of being the largest US-based fantasy sports site as the company regularly does.

The two biggest daily fantasy sports sites have locked horns on who has claims of being the “largest US-based” fantasy sports website and FanDuel, which filed the complaint, is in the right in this particular instance.

FanDuel claimed that its rival is engaging in false advertising because it promotes itself as the “largest U.S.-based destination for daily fantasy sports” is invalid.

For its part, DraftKings is arguing that it hasn’t made claims of being larger than FanDuel, conceding that its rival does have more users and offers larger guaranteed prize pools. It instead bases its claim on its belief that FanDuel isn’t a US-based company as it traces its roots to Edinburgh, Scotland where FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles is based.