If you wanted proof that the NFL is going all in on betting, it appears Caesars Entertainment will win the bidding war for naming rights to the Louisiana Superdome.
According to a report in The Athletic, the New Orleans Saints will earn a cool $200million over the next 20 years for choosing the gambling company to replace current incumbent Mercedes-Benz. That deal expires in the summer.
Vegas visit for Saints
According to the subscription platform, Saints brass visited Las Vegas recently to work towards finalizing the blockbusting deal.
“Mercedes-Benz is currently under contract until July of this year as the naming rights partner,” said Greg Bensel, the senior vice president of communications for the Saints and New Orleans Pelicans.
”We do not have anything official to report as there is not a signed deal with any company at this time. We continue to have conversations with numerous interested companies.”
The NFL has not been as quick to strike gambling-related partnerships as other leagues and franchises since the Supreme Court struck down PASPA in May 2018. That meant any state could now decide its own laws on sports betting. And stopped Nevada being the only game in town.
NFL to cash in on betting
It is now clear sports betting should mean huge new revenue streams for all sports leagues – 10 years ago it would have been unthinkable for the NFL to have a franchise in Las Vegas for instance. But here we are, hello Raiders.
The salary cap is expected to increase at a rapid rate in the coming years, not just courtesy of those blockbusting new TV contracts, but also via incremental revenues from gambling-related partnerships.
For the first time this year it experienced a drop to $182.5million due to the financial implications of COVID-19.
Experts though predict it could be up at around $300million by 2025.
Betting on sports is not as yet legal in the state of Louisiana. Voters approved its addition last year but lawmakers have yet to finalize regulations to enable the rollout. That looks like being late 2021 or early 2022.
For Caesars, the Superdome move is another big statement of intent following the $3.7billion acquisition of sportsbook rival William Hill.