Why The NFL Went All In On Sports Gambling

This, in turn, meant that each one of the 32 franchises received $416 million in the share out, up from $386 million in 2023. It was also the year when the Dallas Cowboys broke through the landmark $10 billion valuation.

One of the reasons for the huge increases in all of these figures has been the way in which the sport has embraced sports betting and has even started to benefit from the online casino sector.

This is pretty ironic considering that prior to the historic 2018 ruling by the US Supreme Court to override the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act the NFL had been one of its most vociferous supporters.

But, with a shrug of its shoulders and a comment that everyone has to move with the times, the League was suddenly cosying up to the emerging sportsbooks.

Everyone’s a winner

For all of its size, the NFL is a voracious beast and there is always the feeling that it must become bigger and bigger as time goes on if it’s truly to thrive.

This is why there are so many initiatives to bring football to the wider audience. These range from the games that are played all round the world including the now regular fixture trips to the UK to academies looking for new players everywhere from India to China.

A softer kind of marketing comes in the form of shows like the Netflix series “America’s Sweethearts”, a fly on the wall documentary about the Dallas Cowboys’ legendary cheerleading squad.

So when it eventually became legal for fans to bet on sportsbooks it suddenly gave access to another very big group of people – those who like to bet, and to bet on sport.

It is therefore very symbolic that, of all the stadia in all of the states that could have hosted the event, the 2024 Super Bowl was held in the country’s undisputed capital of gambling, Las Vegas.

Fairly soon after the ruling in 2018 and as soon as the first states started to include legal sports betting in their constitutions partnerships started to be formed. Initially it was between sportsbooks and teams and then the other gambling links started to grow. So now gambling organisations make a fairly significant contribution to the $2.5 billion that NFL teams receive in sponsorship on a yearly basis.

Plentiful opportunities

There are very many reasons why the combination of the NFL and sports betting make such perfect bedfellows.

Firstly, to look at it from the sportsbooks’ perspective, it is almost certain to generate a large amount of extra revenue for them. For example, it was calculated that for the 2024 Super Bowl the average wager for a fan on the game was $340. Yes, this is an event that attracts these high sums more than any other in the football calendar but it signifies the season-wide potential.

By linking up with a team or the league itself, the sportsbook may also be granted certain licensing and image rights to use on their own marketing material. This adds legitimacy to their operation, as well as signifying to fans that these are sportsbooks that know and understand the sport that they love.

On the side of the NFL the reasons for the link ups are equally compelling. It goes without saying that sportsbooks are charged handsomely for the privilege of being associated with the league – but then they can also look forward to handsome returns.

But the undoubted Number One reason why football loves sports betting is a simple one.

Sport needs its fans to be truly invested in it. And there’s no better way to achieve this than by having money riding on the outcome.

A less direct benefit to the NFL comes in its relationship with the networks that show games. They pay huge amounts for the rights each year in the hope of making profits on the TV advertising they can attract.

Now that there are so many close links with sportsbooks most of these spend millions of dollars of dollars each year on their TV ads, meaning that the NFL is in an ever-stronger position to negotiate over future rights.

Looking ahead

Some observers are predicting that future years will see the arrival of the mega-entertainment complex. One that incudes a hotel, casino and sporting arena in the same place. This synergy could see the relationship between sportsbooks, the NFL and specific franchises growing ever closer. Whether or not this does come to pass, one thing is for certain.

The partnership between sports betting and the NFL is a bond that will never be broken.