Esports Milestone: The Philadelphia Eagles Become The First NFL Team To Dive Into Esports

from the first-down! dept

We've been talking about the growth of esports for some time here, in particular the way it has exploded in use since the pandemic first began. Still, for those of us watching the progress of esports, there are certain milestone markers you look for. Major sporting brands like Nike jumping into it is one, as is seeing the first esports company looking to be listed on a major stock exchange. But the real indicator that esports is now fully a thing is when major IRL sports leagues like the NHL, NASCAR, and MLB jump onto the bandwagon.

Still, in some of those cases, this action was taken specifically to tide the public over during the severe lockdowns in the pandemic, which by-and-large shut down IRL sports. But with the Philadelphia Eagles deciding to be the NFL's first franchise to get into esports, it appears to be for the long haul.

The Philadelphia Eagles have named Esports Entertainment Group (EEG) as their official esports tournament provider, a first for a National Football League (NFL) franchise. The multi-year partnership will see EEG operate biannual competitions played on EA Sports’ Madden NFL title, with the gaming-focused betting company utilising its Esports Gaming League platform.

In addition, the deal sees the Eagles become an EEG shareholder. The firm was founded in 2008 and in its most recent financial filing it citied a significant uptick in its turnover, which it said had returned to pre-Covid levels.

Note: in the betting world, turnover is a good thing, as it refers to the amount of money being wagered and the amount of vig taken in by the betting platform. The notable part of this is the Eagles' decision to become a shareholder in EEG. That indicates that this isn't some short term play during the pandemic, which actually didn't shut down NFL football at all, but rather a long term play aimed at riding a wave of esports' popularity.

And the benefits here are a two-way street. With this deal, EEG can make use of Eagles players to advertise its tournaments.

“We are thrilled to partner with the Philadelphia Eagles as they introduce their fans to the world of competitive esports gaming,” said Grant Johnson, chief executive of EEG.

“The Eagles join a growing list of high-profile organisations that have chosen Esports Entertainment Group as their esports tournament provider, affording us an incredible opportunity to expand our brand reach within multiple large, dedicated fanbases and setting the stage for significant growth ahead. We intend to build on this momentum.”

If there are still doubters out there that esports is going to become a major player in the sports entertainment market, it might be time to admit you were wrong.

Filed Under: esports, football
Companies: philadelphia eagles

NFL Teams Enjoy Giving NFL's Social Media Policy A Giant, Hilarious Middle Finger, Using Toys

from the sorry-not-sorry dept

You'll recall that we recently commented on the NFL's new dumb social media policy for its member teams, which outlines how much video content a team can push out as kickoff approaches (less than before), what type of video content from games teams can produce and distribute on their own (basically none), and the size of the fines if teams violate this policy (huuuuuge). The NFL has insisted elsewhere that this one-size-fits-all marketing approach has zilch to do with its precipitous ratings decline, although few believe it on this point. And, even as news of the policy has been released, the NFL itself has been inclined to push out as much of this very same content itself, centralizing its social media media control.

So, if you're an NFL team that doesn't like the new policy and wants to make its fans aware of how silly it is in the most hilarious way possible, what do you do? Well, if you're the Cleveland Browns and the Philadelphia Eagles, you push out Twitter updates to your followers that depict game highlights using plastic figurines. Here is how the Browns alerted their fans that their team had scored a touchdown.

And here is how the Eagles notified their Twitter followers of an in-game interception.

One wonders exactly how quickly the NFL's policy will be updated to include fines for snarkily shitting on that same policy. I imagine it will come quickly, because the NFL has not shown a propensity for having a sense of humor. Meanwhile, this should highlight exactly why the policy is so silly. Here we have creative, snarky, funny social media folks at these NFL teams whose talents are being wasted due to a top-down marketing approach from a league office that is overseeing the first ratings decline for the NFL in decades.

How in the world does that make any sense?

Filed Under: football, snark, social media
Companies: cleveland browns, nfl, philadelphia eagles

Can A Radio Station Give Away Tickets To A Football Game? The Eagles Say No...

from the right-of-first-sale dept

We've noted the trend of trying to cut down on scalping by using e-tickets to stop the transfer of tickets, but it appears that the Philadelphia Eagles football team also is trying to stop radio stations from doing promotional giveaways. The team has sued the owner of the radio station, saying that the terms on the back of the ticket forbid the use of the tickets for commercial purposes -- such as contests -- and also that the station is violating the Eagles' trademarks in naming them around the ticket giveaway promotion. This raises a bunch of questions about the right of first sale on a ticket. While the stadium may have the right to forbid entry to anyone, it seems like that would be a dumb move on the team's part. My guess is that the team's main concern is that it only wants partner (i.e., those who paid a ton for broadcast rights) radio stations to give away tickets -- but that doesn't mean there's a legal right there. If the tickets were legitimately bought, why shouldn't the station be able to sell them or give them away? And, considering that the radio station was accurately describing the team when using the name, that shouldn't be a trademark violation.

Filed Under: first sale, football, tickets
Companies: philadelphia eagles