On Tuesday, the NFL announced that it partnered with U.S. Bank in a multi-year partnership, making the financial institution the first brand to hold a standalone banking sponsorship with the NFL in 30 years.
The deal helps fill a void left by Visa, whose sponsorship rights expired in March after three decades of partnership, the second-longest such relationship in league history behind only Gatorade, which first partnered with the NFL in 1983.
Under the previous arrangement, Visa served as the financial services partner of the NFL, but it also owned all associated categories including peer-to-peer banking and retail banking, which Visa passed through to North Carolina-based Truist Bank.
Going forward, the NFL has disaggregated its payments sponsorship from one category into three.
Beginning Tuesday, U.S. Bank will serve as the bank and wealth management partner of the league, while American Express stepped in to claim the payments category from Visa. The NFL has not yet named its peer-to-peer banking sponsor, but PayPal is the odds-on favorite, according to the Sports Business Journal.
As a result, the NFL has effectively monetized what was once a category-wide sponsorship into three distinct partnerships, capturing significantly more value in the process.
Representatives from U.S. Bank and the NFL declined to share the financial specifics of the partnership, though the net value of the two signed deals does exceed what the NFL received from Visa, the league confirmed. For context, American Express is paying between $910 million and $950 million over seven years for its charter, according to the SBJ.
U.S. Bank emerged from a competitive RFP process in part by emphasizing its focus on community and through its efforts to support the financial literacy of its players, according to Tracie Rodburg, the NFL’s senior vice president of global partnerships.
“Banking was a pass-through right, so we didn’t have a direct relationship with banks,” Rodburg said. “But banks are such a core part of communities, and communities are core to the NFL.”
As part of the partnership, U.S. Bank is unveiling a new initiative called the Financial Edge program, a financial literacy offering designed to serve NFL players from their rookie seasons through retirement. Although players are free to bank with whatever institution they prefer, U.S. Bank no doubt hopes to win the opportunity to manage the wealth of some of the highest-paid professionals on the planet.
The bank will introduce the program in part through Fernando Mendoza, the projected top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, who graduated with a business administration degree and will serve as its Chief Financial Playmaker.
