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The National Football League (NFL) is set to relax its stringent position on alcohol sponsorship by allowing the use of team and player images to advertise alcohol brands.
A leaked internal email seen last week by Morning Consult noted that beer brands which partner with NFL teams will now be able to use images of players to market their products. However, for wine and spirits brands the regulations will remain in place.
Despite the rule change, the NFL has still implemented relatively strict limits on how beer companies can use a player’s image.
Only active players can be used, while the branding cannot suggest that players are endorsing the product they are being used to advertise. In addition, if a brand wants to use more than one player’s image, they have to use a minimum of six different players.
Brands must still sign a sponsorship agreement with respective players’ teams and must only use licensed Associated Press action shots for the branding opportunities.
The players that are used in the branding will be paid a fee for the use of their likeness.
Although wine and spirit brands will not be able to use NFL athletes to promote their products, the regulations for those companies have still been relaxed.
Spirit brands will be able to use team logos on their materials for the first time. Wine brands, meanwhile, will be able to do so without commemorating a landmark club event, such as a championship anniversary, as they had to in the past.
The move comes after Anheuser-Busch, which counts Budweiser among its portfolio of beers, reached an agreement with the players’ unions of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) to allow active players to promote alcohol.
Marcel Marcondes, chief marketing officer at Anheuser-Busch, has since confirmed the change to AdAge, saying: “With the NFL’s recent announcement, we now have rights to partner with active players in the three biggest leagues in the US.
“Through these agreements A-B brands have the opportunity to connect with fans in new ways and to not just highlight these players as great athletes, but more importantly, as great people. This is a win for fans, the league and its players as well as the sponsors.”
The National Football League (NFL) is set to relax its stringent position on alcohol sponsorship by allowing the use of team and player images to advertise alcohol brands.
A leaked internal email seen last week by Morning Consult noted that beer brands which partner with NFL teams will now be able to use images of players to market their products. However, for wine and spirits brands the regulations will remain in place.
Despite the rule change, the NFL has still implemented relatively strict limits on how beer companies can use a player’s image.
Only active players can be used, while the branding cannot suggest that players are endorsing the product they are being used to advertise. In addition, if a brand wants to use more than one player’s image, they have to use a minimum of six different players.
Brands must still sign a sponsorship agreement with respective players’ teams and must only use licensed Associated Press action shots for the branding opportunities.
The players that are used in the branding will be paid a fee for the use of their likeness.
Although wine and spirit brands will not be able to use NFL athletes to promote their products, the regulations for those companies have still been relaxed.
Spirit brands will be able to use team logos on their materials for the first time. Wine brands, meanwhile, will be able to do so without commemorating a landmark club event, such as a championship anniversary, as they had to in the past.
The move comes after Anheuser-Busch, which counts Budweiser among its portfolio of beers, reached an agreement with the players’ unions of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) to allow active players to promote alcohol.
Marcel Marcondes, chief marketing officer at Anheuser-Busch, has since confirmed the change to AdAge, saying: “With the NFL’s recent announcement, we now have rights to partner with active players in the three biggest leagues in the US.
“Through these agreements A-B brands have the opportunity to connect with fans in new ways and to not just highlight these players as great athletes, but more importantly, as great people. This is a win for fans, the league and its players as well as the sponsors.”
