“Tri-exclusive” doesn’t mean what it used to.
The NFL announced four more sportsbook partners Monday. The new sportsbooks form a second tier of partnerships as “approved sportsbook operators” for the 2021 NFL season. They are:
What’s in it for the sportsbooks?
The operators gain the right to advertise on TV around NFL games and on “select NFL media properties.”
They also commit to buy official data through Genius Sports for NFL betting.
Two tiers of NFL betting partners
The designation puts them one notch below the “tri-exclusive” NFL sportsbook partners announced in April:
- FanDuel
- DraftKings
- Caesars
Those operators got similar benefits, plus rights to use NFL logos across their platforms and other integrations. They can also access “premium” NFL advertising inventory during games.
No sportsbooks outside these seven operators will have access to NFL media inventory.
Who wins in new NFL betting deal?
The NFL continues to squeeze as much money as possible of US sportsbooks. They have essentially sold the right to buy advertising.
This comes after long-time opposition to betting on NFL games. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in 2015:
“We’ve been very open about our position that we oppose legalized sports gambling. We haven’t changed our position on that. I don’t anticipate us changing that going forward at all.”
What about NFL betting partners?
PointsBet was always likely to do a deal with the NFL because of its relationship with NBC. NBC’s flagship show is Sunday Night Football, and PointsBet now has a clear runway to advertise NFL betting around SNF.
It is a similar story over at Fox Bet, which of course wants to advertise around the Fox NFL games on Sundays.
Elsewhere, BetMGM plans to put a sportsbook in an NFL stadium in the Arizona sports betting market. WynnBet has a partnership with the Detroit Lions.
Genius gains new data customers
Genius Sports is the other big winner, with seven sportsbooks now committed to buy its NFL official data product. So far, only DraftKings officially announced a deal with Genius.
But the data firm is in a strong negotiating position as it hammers out the financial details with these other operators. Though sportsbooks complained about the price, they are now committed to coming to terms.
As one exec told LSR last month: “It is a monopoly. You are negotiating against a monopoly.”
