February 5, 2024

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I’ve covered the business side of nearly every Super Bowl the past decade, so I said “Yes” in a nanosecond when Front Office Sports asked me to report from Las Vegas as your morning guide every day this week in the lead-up to Super Bowl LVIII. And the Super Bowl is indeed an entire weeklong event—it’s a cornucopia of meetings, sponsor activations, media huddles … and, yes, parties, all preceding the headliner. I’ll be going a little longer than you’re used to in this space, and this morning I’ll help you understand two crucial aspects of Super Bowl LVIII: the special rules for players who come to Las Vegas, a city the NFL long shunned; and the context behind what might be Roger Goodell’s least favorite event, his annual press conference.

— Dan Kaplan [[link removed]]

What Happens When the NFL Welcomes Hundreds of Players to a Locale It Once Shunned?

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It was just nine years ago that the NFL barred then Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo from hosting a fantasy sports convention in Las Vegas because it would have taken place at a space adjacent to a casino. The NFL treated Las Vegas, the most concentrated hub of legal gambling in the U.S., like a toxic waste dump and a threat to the integrity of the sport. “There was always a Berlin Wall separating the NFL from gambling,” says longtime NFL agent Leigh Steinberg.

That, of course, changed with a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that lifted bans on sports betting. The NFL gradually embraced gambling, adding sportsbook sponsors and data partners; it moved the Raiders to Vegas; it staged the draft there in 2022; and now the league is all in, with the city looking like a regular part of the Super Bowl host rotation.

As the NFL (including Romo himself, as part of CBS’s lead broadcasting team) descends on Sin City for Super Bowl LVIII, it’s worth noting there are a few remaining guardrails that restrict what players can do in Vegas. But the NFL rule that once completely barred players from even entering a casino has been discarded into the trash bin of history, alongside leather helmets and single-bar facemasks.

While restrictions are greatly relaxed, however, they are not completely eliminated. Don’t expect to see active players—those not on the 49ers or Chiefs—greeting gamblers at casino doors or staging autograph signings next to the slot machines, promoted on the marquee.

To back up a moment, it is important to point out that Super Bowl week is a real earning opportunity for anyone not in the game. A significant percentage of players on the other 30 teams descend on the Super Bowl city to make paid appearances and hawk products. “We’ve definitely had players make well into six figures during the Super Bowl [week],” says Russ Spielman, who runs GSE Worldwide’s football business. So it won’t be shocking to see players walking through casinos on their way to paid appearances. Wynn Las Vegas has already boasted about the sports podcasts that will record from its in-casino studios, including The Edge, with Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons. The NFL Experience, which typically hosts dozens of player appearances, is located in Mandalay Bay.

But while players may appear in casinos, they are not permitted under league policy to promote or endorse anything related to the gambling epicenter. Nor are they allowed to be featured next to slot machines and gaming tables. A tricky needle to thread for those looking to earn a few bucks.

Dexter Santos, a VP of the NFLPA who oversees the union’s effort to arrange commercial opportunities during Super Bowl week, says that as of last week he had 700 appearances in the works, and 576 players indicated they were coming to Las Vegas. (And that’s just what has been handled by the union.) But when it comes to active players, the NFLPA isn’t putting them in public-facing roles in casinos.

“You can’t stop a player from going to a casino,” Santos says, but “they can’t go out and promote that. … So, if they did an appearance, they could do a private meet and greet. But they can’t promote it. O.K., so a player can make an appearance, but [the casino] couldn’t promote that the player is making an appearance, and the player can’t promote it on his social [media].”

Reflective of this straddling: Las Vegas Raiders receiver Davante Adams, for example, endorses [[link removed]] MGM but not its BetMGM unit. To some, that may be a distinction without a difference, and such gray areas appear to be leading to some misunderstanding in the market.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports Confusion Persists

Front Office Sports interviewed several marketing agents who were confused by what the rules are now and who were each holding back on plugging their player clients into appearances in casinos, whether that be in private rooms, like at a restaurant, or at a VIP reception.

Asked whether they knew if players were allowed inside sportsbooks, one marketing agent replied, “I honestly don’t know. … [Hesitating.] I believe that they are allowed; they just can’t bet on football.”

Actually: Players are not allowed inside sportsbooks other than to walk through on their way to another part of the casino. The agent is correct; players can’t bet on football.

The agent also said it was his understanding that players can’t make casino appearances. But Santos says that’s wrong—they can, as long as the event is not promoted using their name.

Marketing agent Maxx Lepselter says that demand for player appearances has been strong … but not off the charts. That could be tied to the concern and confusion surrounding what players can and cannot do. “It’s been definitely busy, but not as insane as I would have anticipated, given Vegas entertainment.” (That was on Jan. 25; business could have surged since then, now that the two teams are known.)

So, what is the league doing about all this (beyond the memo Goodell issued last week, reminding clubs about the rules for players and non-player personnel)? Will the NFL monitor whether players promote casino events or appear in sportsbooks? On a conference call with reporters last week, David Highhill, the NFL’s general manager of sports betting, was commenting broadly about how the league knows whether its gambling rules are being followed when he said, “On the monitoring front, I think there’s an array of resources that we use. That includes working with our partners, state regulators—we have external agencies that we work with as well.”

With hundreds of NFL players streaming into Vegas this week, all looking to make money and relax, and with sportsbooks littered across the city, this Super Bowl should be a stern test of that monitoring system.

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Presser Cooker: Get Ready for the Commish’s (Adjusted) Annual Address

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

This afternoon, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will hold his annual Super Bowl press conference, a high-profile event that typically generates news, but not always [[link removed]] in the way the league would like.

Today, the setting is unusual: inside the home team locker room at Allegiant Stadium (for this week, that locker room belongs to the Kansas City Chiefs), rather than the typical hotel conference room. In 2022, the NFL staged the commissioner’s press conference outside of SoFi Stadium, and in ’14, indoors, the league arranged for fake snow to fall on the commissioner in a nod to worries about the weather in the New York–New Jersey area during the first outdoor cold-weather Super Bowl. (In the end, temperatures approached record highs for the game.)

The day of this year’s press conference is also unusual. This marks the first time it’s being held on a Monday. Typically, the commissioner’s press conference has been scheduled for a Wednesday; before that, going back years, it was on a Friday. In my world, the move up to Monday, which was messaged late in most people’s planning, triggered suspicions that the league was trying to minimize attention on the event, as a substantial contingent of media tends not to be in town that early in the week. Longer stay, more money, budget-slashing newsrooms, etc. (Also: I know that the move means at least one owner who planned to attend Wednesday will not make it; he declined to come in two days earlier.) The league, for what it’s worth, counters: No, the move is about keeping the media’s attention on the players. But beyond moving dates, they’ve also winnowed the crowd, inviting only select reporters, whereas previously any media could attend. Don Van Natta Jr. (of ESPN), Mike Florio (NBC), and Jim Trotter (The Athletic), prominent reporters who have written critically of the league, are among those who have been excluded. (Trotter, in particular, has a complicated history [[link removed]] with the NFL.)

I have always wondered how the commissioner prepares for his time in this media glare. Does the league run him through a mock press conference? Does his communications department supply him with prospective questions? I found some answers in an unusual place: an insurance lawsuit.

A lawyer representing insurers who are suing the NFL over who should pay for the league’s concussion settlement asked Goodell about this in a 2022 deposition. (The insurers are interested because one of their arguments against covering the settlement is that the league agreed to settle for PR reasons, not out of any sense of legal obligation.) Goodell, queried by those insurers’ lawyer in a deposition about whether the league staged a “practice run” for the Super Bowl presser, replied: “I wasn’t big on that.”

This is how Goodell described the prep: “We spend a lot of time preparing for Super Bowl press conferences by meeting with staff in advance, and they would tell me the key issues they think are going to be raised and their perspective on it. I didn’t spend a lot of time practicing, if that’s what you meant. It was more them informing me of what they thought the priorities were and the proper things to address.”

So we will see later today whether Goodell is well prepped. I would expect questions about: recent concussion stories; the league’s talks regarding merging a portion of its media business with ESPN as part of an equity investment in the network; the league’s embrace of sports gambling; and, of course, Taylor Swift. I assume Goodell won’t be asked about the right-wing conspiracy theory [[link removed]] that the Super Bowl is rigged in a plot to reelect President Joe Biden.

Tomorrow morning’s newsletter will take a close look at that presser and the key moments.

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL Network is scheduled to broadcast 72 hours of dedicated live Super Bowl coverage beginning this morning, through postgame Sunday. That’s the equivalent of three straight days of TV. (Roughly the same as last year.)

On Sunday, before the game, the network will air interviews with Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and the halftime show performer, Usher. The network will also offer live coverage of today’s Goodell presser and media night, as well as the NFL Honors awards show Thursday.

The NFL hype machine marches on.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY They Said What?

“In-game ads generated somewhere around $430 million worth of revenue [in previous Super Bowls]. That’s a lot, and that’s probably only going to increase.”

—Rick Suter, USA Today Ad Meter editor, on the value brands get from advertising in the Super Bowl. To hear more of Suter’s analysis of what’s coming on Sunday, listen to Front Office Sports Today.

🎧 Listen and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Google [[link removed]], and Spotify [[link removed]].

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The NBA’s Commitment to Responsible Gaming

Sports betting in the U.S. has never been more popular. As more states have legalized the practice in recent years, the digital sportsbook industry has grown, and the partnerships [[link removed]] with professional teams and leagues have expanded with it.

From the NBA to the NFL, NHL, and more, teams and leagues at large have begun to partner with sportsbooks like FanDuel not only to engage fans, but also to promote responsible betting [[link removed]] in sports.

In Lesson 3 of our latest course, Responsible Gaming Essentials: The Power of Partnerships, we join Andrew Sneyd, EVP of Marketing at FanDuel, and Eric Rimsky, Vice President of U.S. Fantasy and Betting at the NBA, as they discuss ways in which the two organizations are leveraging their partnership to reinforce Responsible Gaming messaging to NBA fans.

Register [[link removed]] for the course today!

Conversation Starters Two of the most influential conferences in college sports decided to get together. See [[link removed]] how the Big Ten and the SEC agreed to unite. NBA Hall of Famer Grant Hill keeps quite busy after his playing days. Check [[link removed]] out his roster of duties. San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York wanted to show that it takes an entire franchise to make the Super Bowl. Learn [[link removed]] how he rewarded his employees. Editor’s Picks LIV’s Super Bowl Weekend Plans Are Straight from the PGA Tour Playbook [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]Golf in the desert parlayed with the Super Bowl. Sound familiar? Taylor Swift Effect? Super Bowl to See Three Health and Beauty Brand Ads [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Three new ad spots target female consumers or prominently feature women. I Bet You Think About Me: Swift a Focal Point in Super Bowl Prop Bets [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]The pop star is becoming a part of the game’s prop bet market. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by Daniel Kaplan [[link removed]] Edited by Adam Duerson [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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