Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park and Xfinity Mobile Arena. At first glance, these names look like they would be titles of stands at a career-expo, not places where people rally to watch sports.
Athlete sponsorships have passed the boundaries of off-field commercials and cereal box features. These sports arenas, along with sponsorships on fields, courts and uniforms, illustrate the prioritization of brand placement in professional sports.
Before leaving the court of her winning match, Aryna Sabalenka, the women’s U.S. Open tournament winner, put her $225,000 Royal Oak Audemars Piguet watch on, sporting it for her post-game interview and press conference.
Other players have similar sponsorships, rolling up their sleeves to expose their watches during interviews, trophy acceptance speeches and wearing it during play — anything to place it in focus of the camera.
When they’re dialing in to play the game they’ve trained their whole lives for, it’s hard to tell if their focus is on the court, or if they’re worried about upholding their appearance, brand deal or sponsorship.
March Madness garners excitement because of the game and creating brackets, but it’s also refreshing to see college athletes play in a tournament without a brand name attached to every ad and promotional shot.
It’s hard to really immerse yourself in a college football game that has a hidden agenda of pushing a product, like when the Capital One Orange Bowl will quickly cut from football to an ad about how to apply for the best credit card, often starring one of the athletes who are now the face of a brand.
And with college athletes now raking in sponsorships and deals worth close to eight figures, the nostalgia of playing only for “the love of the game” is gone.
With the Name Image Likeness agreement announced by the NCAA in 2021, and the House vs. NCAA case in June, college athletes and universities are expanding their ability to profit from brand sponsorships, social media deals and revenue from games and merchandise.
ESPN staff writer Dan Murphy wrote that the Supreme Court ruled against the NCAA in 2021, making it clear that “college athletics should be treated less like an education-based endeavor and more like a lucrative entertainment industry.”
When House vs. NCAA, settled in the U.S. District Court, struck down three antitrust laws that limited college athletes’ earning power in the former NIL agreement. This case set the precedent that college athletics departments will begin directly paying athletes in a revenue-sharing agreement.
Colleges and universities, including the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, are also employing social media advisors to guide students through technicalities of accepting sponsorships and brand deals.
While this offers a lucrative opportunity for student athletes that don’t otherwise have time for a job, it can take away from the real purpose of playing the sport they love. If the pressure to procure these deals — as seen in professional sports — precludes players’ mindsets, it could take their focus away from the sport itself.
Not all sources of revenue for sports seep into gameplay or take precedence in the camera. Donors are also often honored in the state-of-the-art facilities that professional and college athletes train in.
When you walk onto Goodman Campus, you’re surrounded by stadiums, fields and wings of buildings that honor Lehigh’s history.
Stabler Arena honors Donald B. Stabler, ‘30, the founder of Stabler Companies Inc., and Goodman Stadium takes after Murray H. Goodman, ‘48, a real estate developer and benefactor of the Dean of Athletics position, both of whom donated land for these facilities to let athletes pursue their passions.
This supports athletics in a way that is not flashy or taking away from the players and their game. Their dollars advance athletic training, providing players with the resources they need for success.
These names, and the meaning they hold, are a stark contrast to the professional sports landscape clustered with stadiums like Citi Field, MetLife Stadium and Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
With brands increasingly requesting their names to be at the focus of athletes’ star moments, players can be put in an uncomfortable position. Should they deny the contract, they are losing out on a large sum of money. If they accept, their mindset can shift to ensure they’re incorporating the small print of the contract the brand demands.
After all, being an athlete means you should be choosing between colleges, training programs and what color jersey you want to wear, not between playing for passion or for monetization.
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