(Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
On Thursday, the NFL announced they've agreed to a multiyear contract with Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings and FanDuel, granting all three partners exclusive access to certain NFL content for retail and sports betting, as well as creating an avenue for integration of betting content into NFL Network broadcasts as soon as this fall. Once a taboo subject, the NFL will have official sports betting partners for the first time in league history.
Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel will be permitted exclusive access to NFL content, like logos, highlights and trademarks; as well as opportunities to integrate their own content into NFL Media properties like NFL.com and the NFL app. Caesars will be tasked with a presence at key NFL events like the 2022 Pro Bowl and 2022 NFL Draft in Las Vegas, as well as in its online iGaming space. Each partner will also be permitted to produce NFL-themed free-to-play games.
"The way fans consume sports years from now will look drastically different, and it will be due in part to forward-thinking collaborations like our expanded relationship with the NFL today as an official sports betting and exclusive daily fantasy sports partner," DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said in a league statement. "We share the same vision as the NFL on fan engagement and believe this agreement will lead to new innovations that will ultimately enhance both the product on the field and on the screen."
Just four years ago in April of 2017, James Harrison and more than 30 other current or former NFL players were fined by the league for participating in an arm-wrestling event in Las Vegas.
The more than 30 current and former NFL players reportedly participated in the Pro Football Arm Wrestling Championship, which took place on April 12, 2017, at Hakkasan, a nightclub inside the MGM Grand Casino.
At the time, league personnel were prohibited from making promotional appearances at casinos or other gambling-related establishments. The policy pertained to all NFL personnel.
Harrison made an Instagram post last month mocking NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for his hypocrisy of favoring legalized sports gambling into the new mega TV agreement.
Fast forward four years later, the league has a team in Sin City and they're now partnered with three official sports betting companies. Things sure do change fast and money sure does talk.