NFL Signs DraftKings As Its Official DFS Partner

For a very long time, it seemed like the National Football League (NFL) was not willing to tolerate the idea of partnering with daily fantasy sports (DFS) providers. This was despite the fact that several of the pro sports league’s partners have embraced daily fantasy sports and gone ahead to ink lucrative partnership deals with some of the leading DFS operators. Well, things have a take a turn for the better and just like it embraced the growing US sports betting market, the NFL has now gone all-in in by partnering with leading DFS provider DraftKings.

What the Deal Entails

The new partnership was officially jointly announced by the NFL and DraftKings on Thursday, September 26 and is a multi-year agreement that is set foster massive growth for both football league and the daily fantasy sports sector. As per the terms of the partnership, DraftKings is now the NFL’s official DFS partner which means that, among other things, it will receive exclusive NFL sponsorship in the DFS category. In addition to that, the daily fantasy sports provider will also gain access to the league’s branding across its gaming platform.

Moreover, both the NFL and DraftKings will be collaborating on content that will be made available on the DFS provider’s app. Some of the content that they will be collaborating on will include data, NextGen stats, marks, the logo as well as a series of NFL-produced video clips.

“We’re thrilled to partner with DraftKings, a clear leader in the daily fantasy space, as they continue to innovate and provide our millions of fans additional ways to interact with and enjoy the NFL,” Renie Anderson, NFL vice president of partnerships, said.

DraftKings officials have also expressed their excitement about the new partnership pointing out that it is proof that both organizations share the same vision in as far as “the future of fan engagement” is concerned.

What the Deal Does Not Entail

Even though this extensive deal is a huge leap forward for both the DFS operator and the league, there are a few things that were left out, at least for now. One of the things that were not included as part of the multi-year partnership deal between the two was DraftKing’s sports betting division. This is perhaps because of the fact that DFS still account for most of its revenue.

That aside, it could also be due to the fact that the NFL is still not prepared to enter into a full-blown partnership with a sports betting operator. While the league has inked partnerships with casino operators in the United States, it is still apparently not ready to do the same with sports betting operations.