Boxer Floyd Mayweather had a deal with FanDuel in 2015, when the daily fantasy sports industry was at its hottest.
Now, Mayweather is promoting another DFS operator ahead of his fight this weekend in Las Vegas with UFC fighter Conor McGregor. And it’s not DraftKings.
Mayweather and Draft
Mayweather tweeted out to his more than seven million Twitter followers about a chance to win tickets to the fight. The surprising part was that it came from Draft, one of the tier of DFS operators behind the “big two” of FanDuel and DraftKings:
https://twitter.com/FloydMayweather/status/900072123946774528
How do you win? The Draft promotion appears to be open only to new users that register accounts at the site. From there, users must make a deposit, and then join a draft against Mayweather. One randomly selected entry will win fight tickets, airfare and a hotel room.
In the fine print, Draft notes that Mayweather “does not win money — account is for promotional purposes only.”
DraftKings also gave away tickets to the fight earlier via a contest, although it wasn’t promoted or endorsed by either fighter.
Draft upping the ante
This spring, Paddy Power Betfair acquired the DFS platform for $19 million up front, with nearly $30 million in payments possible based on performance.
The Mayweather promotion indicates the biggest marketing push yet since the purchase. At the time time, PPB indicated it would spend eight figures on marketing in 2017. We’re apparently now seeing that spend come to bear.
Mayweather is the biggest of many star athletes that has been promoting Draft in recent days:
Fantasy football head 2 head in a week 1 contest against me?
Free $5 if you win Sign up at : https://t.co/a2cw5Mo0lt pic.twitter.com/h2gf7KXZMQ— SHAQ (@SHAQ) August 21, 2017
Fantasy Football season is here! One random account to sign up today for my week 1 contest wins this jersey! https://t.co/r3Wi1U74BR pic.twitter.com/6gcZH3818c
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) August 21, 2017
I need 400 of my followers to join my DRAFT fantasy app, the 20k I get I’ll give it to one of you randomly. pic.twitter.com/2zURsSqh5v
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) August 21, 2017
Mayweather and DFS, sports betting
Mayweather is one of the most famous sports bettors on the planet, commonly putting down six-figure bets in Vegas. Despite some chatter to the contrary, Mayweather does not appear to bet on himself in his fights.
Mayweather also famously wore a FanDuel logo on his trunks for a 2015 fight against Manny Pacquiao.
