The New York Jets have become the first National Football League team to ink a sponsorship deal with an online gambling operator.
Late Monday, the New York Post broke the news that the Jets had signed a contract with UK-listed online gambling operator 888 Holdings. Banners promoting 888 were on display outside the Jets’ MetLife Stadium during Sunday’s game vs. the Chicago Bears and the company’s New Jersey-licensed site identifies 888 as a “proud sponsor” of the team, whose logo is prominently featured.
So far, two NFL teams – the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens – have announced tie-ups with brick-and-mortar casinos following the league rethinking its longstanding ban on gambling-related partnerships. However, neither of those deals involved a state in which sports betting has been declared legal.
The Jets-888 deal will reportedly be formally announced later this week, but the Jets appear to have limited 888 to promoting its online casino and poker operations rather than its 888sport brand (which launched in New Jersey in September). Regardless, visitors to 888’s New Jersey-licensed site are only one click away from the sports betting page, which prominently features a logo-free football player.