The National Football League (NFL) has entered into a content licensing deal with Front Office Sports (FOS), marking the first time the NFL has partnered with a sports business-focused news outlet to share content, as reported by Axios.
This yearlong agreement, detailed by FOS founder and CEO Adam White, involves FOS paying the NFL for access to its intellectual property, including logos, emblems, and behind-the-scenes content from major NFL events such as the NFL International Games, the Super Bowl, and the NFL Draft. The deal does not include live game rights but allows FOS to use NFL branding and create business-focused content across its website and social media channels starting in fall 2025.
The partnership aims to strengthen FOS’s relationship with advertisers, including official NFL partners, by leveraging the NFL’s valuable intellectual property to enhance its coverage. Amanda Kersen, NFL director of business development and strategic investments, noted that FOS’s engaged community and unique storytelling opportunities align with the NFL’s goal to make its business story accessible to fans.
The arrangement follows similar NFL content deals with outlets like The GIST, Bleacher Report, Overtime, and Betches Media, indicating the league’s strategy to diversify its media partnerships.
However, as noted in an Awful Announcing report, such partnerships raise questions about editorial independence, with observers likely to monitor how FOS covers the NFL moving forward. RedBird Capital Partners, a majority stakeholder in FOS, also connects the two entities through their joint involvement in EverPass Media, which delivers NFL Sunday Ticket to commercial venues.