TLDR Recap

✔️ Abercrombie & Fitch becomes the NFL’s first official fashion partner
✔️ MrBeast drives 700M views and $18.8M in media value for Formula E
✔️ Breitling signs NFL sponsorship with Super Bowl activations and team watches
✔️ Cisco secures six new NFL team partnerships for the 2025 season
✔️ Dick’s Sporting Goods and Foot Locker merger approved by shareholders

League and Team Partnerships

The NFL continued to expand its commercial footprint this week. Luxury watchmaker Breitling upgraded its licensing deal into a full sponsorship, activating at the Super Bowl and NFL Honors while launching team-branded watches across all 32 franchises. The league also added six new team agreements with Cisco, which will provide networking and cybersecurity solutions for the Bears, Bills, Cardinals, Dolphins, Panthers, and Raiders.

Teams at the local level saw fresh momentum as well. American Airlines signed a multiyear partnership with Tepper Sports & Entertainment, becoming the official airline of both the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC. The Kansas City Chiefs brought back a jersey patch sponsor, adding Burns & McDonnell as official engineering and construction partner, while the Boston Celtics landed PIMCO as their new investment management partner and naming sponsor of the PIMCO Parquet Club at TD Garden.

On the college front, Nike continued its push in apparel. Rice University and the University of South Carolina both signed long-term deals with the Swoosh, with South Carolina’s 10-year, $75M agreement officially ending its run with Under Armour. Elsewhere, the University of Texas locked in a lucrative on-field sponsorship with cardiovascular health brand Humann, while AAA Club Alliance teamed with Ohio State Athletics to launch a co-branded MVP membership program for Buckeye fans.

Brand Activations and Campaigns

Food and beverage brands made big moves this week. Little Caesars, entering its fourth year as the NFL’s Official Pizza Sponsor, launched a co-branded campaign with Pepsi starring Saquon Barkley, and is reviving its “Pizza! Pizza! Pregame Challenges” with more than $5 million in rewards. Meanwhile, Modelo announced its largest-ever fan engagement plan for the 2025–26 college football season, boosting media investment by 20 percent and bringing back its fan-favorite character, The Recruiter.

These activations underscore a growing emphasis on gameday culture, where brands are competing not only for visibility but also for deeper, interactive engagement with fans across stadiums, screens, and social platforms.

Business Moves

The retail sector made headlines with one of the year’s biggest mergers. Shareholders approved the combination of Dick’s Sporting Goods and Foot Locker, creating a powerhouse in U.S. sporting goods and sneaker retail. With a combined market cap topping $20 billion, the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2025 and positions the merged company as a dominant player across both performance and lifestyle categories.

In sponsorship, long-term commitments continued to flow. The Independence Bowl extended its title deal with Radiance Technologies through 2027, with options to run through 2030, ensuring stability for one of college football’s postseason fixtures. On the international stage, the LPGA secured Fortinet as the new title sponsor of the Fortinet Founders Cup, replacing Cognizant and restoring the purse to $3 million, a move that strengthens the tour’s financial footing and visibility.

New categories also entered the fold. Purina signed on with U.S. Soccer through 2030, gaining exclusivity across pet food, treats, supplements, and adoption initiatives, while Fever became LIV Golf’s first-ever ticketing partner. Fever will not only manage global ticketing but also serve as a demand generation partner for the league, with additional visibility coming through jersey branding on Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC team.

Number of the Week

700M

That is how many views MrBeast’s Formula E content has generated in 2025 alone, translating into $18.8 million in media value. It is a staggering example of how creator-led partnerships can unlock global reach at a scale few leagues can match, positioning influencers as essential accelerators for sports properties seeking new audiences.

Talent Partnerships

Athletes continued to blur the lines between performance and lifestyle this week. Travis Kelce launched his AE x Tru Kolors collection with American Eagle, bringing more than 90 pieces to market with a second drop set for September 24. To amplify reach, the campaign tapped a roster of NIL and Olympic stars, including Jeremiah Smith, Azzi Fudd, Drew Allar, Anna Frey, Kiyan Anthony, and Suni Lee.

In gaming, Luka Dončić became the first professional athlete to headline an in-game event in Overwatch 2. The “Play Like Luka” campaign features custom hero builds and Luka-themed rewards, merging his NBA persona with his long-time presence in the gaming community.

NIL storytelling drove two of the week’s most engaging campaigns. Arch Manning signed with Warby Parker, starring in a humorous spot alongside his father Cooper that leaned into his childhood glasses-wearing persona. Meanwhile, Auburn QB Jackson Arnold partnered with DUDE Wipes to lead the “TP is for the Trees” campaign, tying the brand to Auburn’s iconic Toomer’s Corner tradition.

Talisman’s Take

Breitling’s expansion into a full NFL sponsorship signals a new era of luxury in American sports. Watches presented at the Super Bowl and NFL Honors elevate football’s connection with premium culture, positioning the league as not just mass-market but aspirational. For Breitling, it cements a cultural bridge between craftsmanship and competition, showing how luxury brands can use sports to anchor themselves in the daily rituals and status symbols of fans.

⚡ Deal or No Deal?

This Week’s Spotlight: Dick’s Sporting Goods × Foot Locker

The Pitch: Shareholders approved the merger between Dick’s Sporting Goods and Foot Locker, combining forces into a $20 billion retail giant set to close in the second half of 2025. The deal positions the merged company as a dominant player in U.S. sporting goods and sneaker culture, consolidating market share across both performance and lifestyle categories.

Talisman’s Call: ✅ Deal.

This is more than just retail consolidation. It is ecosystem control. Together, Dick’s and Foot Locker gain unmatched leverage with suppliers, athletes, and leagues, reshaping how consumers access both high performance gear and fashion driven sneaker drops. For fans, it means streamlined experiences and broader access, while for brands, it creates a single gateway into America’s sporting goods and sneaker economy. It is a structural shift with long term cultural and commercial implications.

Upcoming Spotlight: 2025 NFL Kickoff Weekend – (September 4 to September 8, 2025)

The NFL returns this week with Kickoff Weekend, marking the start of one of the most powerful cultural engines in global sports. Storylines span from new quarterback debuts to reigning contenders defending their turf, with primetime matchups drawing mass audiences across broadcast, streaming, and social platforms. For brands, this is the launchpad: Breitling enters with luxury activations, Little Caesars and Pepsi roll out Saquon Barkley campaigns, and Cisco debuts new team partnerships. With fan rituals, high-stakes competition, and a slate of fresh sponsorships converging, the opening week of the season delivers unparalleled scale for performance and lifestyle storytelling.

Quote of the Week

Talisman’s Athlete of the Week

Rio Ngumoha

In a moment of Premier League drama, 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha etched his name into Liverpool history by scoring a stoppage-time winner on his debut to seal a 3–2 triumph over Newcastle. His strike in the 100th minute was not only the goal that made him the club’s youngest ever scorer, it also became Liverpool’s latest winner in Premier League history. For brands, Ngumoha represents the perfect storm of youth, narrative, and breakthrough excellence, embodying the kind of cultural resonance that transcends sport.

Talisman Trend Watch

College Sports as Marketing Battleground

The college landscape is quickly becoming one of the most competitive spaces in sports marketing. From Nike’s $75 million deal with South Carolina to Modelo’s record investment in college football fan engagement, brands are going bigger and earlier to win the loyalty of tomorrow’s stars and their fan bases. NIL campaigns only add fuel, with athletes like Arch Manning and Jackson Arnold already fronting national spots that blur the line between student and celebrity.

What makes college unique is the convergence of tradition, emotion, and future potential. These partnerships are not just about reaching today’s fans but about embedding brands into the narratives that will carry into the professional stage. For sponsors, universities are no longer secondary properties. They are premium platforms for building long-term cultural equity.

Insights

The global sports sponsorship market continues its rapid ascent. Valued at $106.44 billion in 2024, the sector grew to $114.47 billion in 2025, and forecasts project it to hit $167.21 billion by 2030 at a 7.81% compound annual growth rate. The steady rise reflects the convergence of traditional sponsorship with emerging categories like tech, wellness, and lifestyle, alongside the explosion of women’s sports and NIL. For brands, this growth is not just about scale; it is about sophistication: rights holders are packaging sponsorships with richer data, deeper fan access, and lifestyle integration that goes far beyond signage.

Word on the Street

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