- The Boston Bruins have named DraftKings as their Official and Exclusive Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) Partner.
- The deal also has a contingency provision that will name DraftKings as an Official Sports Betting Partner ‘should sports betting become legal in Massachusetts.
- DraftKings will also be the presenting partner of the Boston Bruins Foundation 50/50 raffle.
Massachusetts is expected to launch sports betting of some type in the near future–face it, they can’t do it any worse than New York did–and DraftKings wants to have a high profile within the Bay State once it happens. To further this, DraftKings has singed a multi-year deal with the National Hockey League (NHL) Boston Bruins to become the exclusive ‘Official Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) Partner’ of the team and the TD Garden arena. They’ll also become the ‘exclusive presenting sponsor’ of the Boston Bruins Foundation 50/50 raffle. Most significantly–at least *potentially–is the agreement that DraftKings will become an ‘Official Sports Betting Partner of the Boston Bruins and TD Garden’ should sports betting become legal in Massachusetts. Massachusetts’ state government is almost as dysfunctional and crooked as New York’s but most expect sports betting to come to the state within the next year assuming the right political cronies get juiced in and the right palms get greased.
Here’s the full text of the agreement from the DraftKings press release announcing the deal:
The Boston Bruins and DraftKings Inc. (Nasdaq: DKNG) announced today a new multi-year deal, which will make DraftKings the exclusive, Official Daily Fantasy Sports Partner of the team and TD Garden, and the exclusive presenting sponsor of the Boston Bruins Foundation 50/50 charitable raffle. The parties have also agreed that DraftKings will be an Official Sports Betting Partner of the Boston Bruins and TD Garden, should sports betting become legal in Massachusetts. The new deal marks another strategic agreement with an NHL team for DraftKings, further advancing DraftKings’ relationship with the league as an official daily fantasy partner and an official sports betting partner of the NHL.
Here’s the specifics of the branding elements that DraftKings will get as part of the agreement:
Per the agreement, DraftKings branding and content will be integrated throughout TD Garden. DraftKings has been granted premium, TV visible dasher board locations including on the Bruins offensive end on the side of the net – generating maximum TV exposure. From doors opening until doors close, DraftKings will be granted 15 second full-screen, full-motion commercial sports and L-wrap banners on all 400+ TVs at the venue. As an addition to the prime, in-arena branding, DraftKings will be featured on the famous supersized, digital LED billboard facing inbound traffic into Boston’s TD Garden.
The LED digital billboard could end up being the promotional steal of the century for DraftKings–that big sign in Kenmore Square worked out pretty well for Citgo and is considered a legit Boston landmark. Ezra Kucharz, Chief Business Officer, DraftKings obviously knows this being as his company is headquartered in Boston. He’s already pushing the idea that the DraftKings billboard will be ‘iconic’:
“We are thrilled to announce our latest team deal with the Boston Bruins, an exceptional team that like us is relentlessly focused on the fan. I’m looking forward to seeing our partnership and branding greet fans wherever they are – online, through the premier Boston Bruins Foundation 50/50 raffle which galvanizes viewers while advancing fantastic charitable causes, and in-person, including with the iconic, supersized, digital LED billboard facing inbound traffic into Boston’s famed TD Garden.”
I tried to find a artists rendering of the iconic billboard but there doesn’t appear to be one. If you’re going to try to create iconic status for your billboard this is a necessity. I shouldn’t have to tell them this. Since I don’t have a rendering of the TD Garden supersized billboard I’ll make do with this considerably smaller and presumably less iconic banner from a Chili’s restaurant in downtown Denver. It was either this or a Denver city bus in DraftKing colors.
The lack of an artists rendering notwithstanding, this is something that could get over huge in Boston. The Kenmore Square Citgo sign is not only a fixture in the city but is part of the iconography of the Boston Red Sox home field aka Fenway Park. It would be to the benefit of everyone concerned should the DraftKings sign at TD Garden actually become part of the city’s identity.
The Bruins brought out the big guns for their quote–as in legit NHL legend and Boston Bruins team President Cam Neely:
“The Boston Bruins are excited to announce this new partnership with DraftKings, a Boston-based company that has established itself as the premier hub for daily fantasy sports. We are looking forward to collaborating with DraftKings to continue to provide the best possible sports and entertainment experience for our fans at TD Garden.”
DraftKings will also get ‘strategic digital and media content’:
The Bruins and DraftKings will execute strategic digital and social media content, with DraftKings takeovers of the Bruins homepage, app integration and digital linkages to the DraftKings suite of products. The Bruins and DraftKings will collaborate on a new content series hosted on Bruins social media channels inspired by daily fantasy engagement and exciting moments in the game. Should Massachusetts legalize sports betting, DraftKings will serve as an Official Sports Betting Partner of the Boston Bruins and TD Garden, and the parties will work together to craft engaging betting experiences for fans. Currently, DraftKings operates mobile sports betting in fifteen states, including two states in New England: Connecticut and New Hampshire.
And about the sponsorship of the Boston Bruins Foundation 50/50 raffle:
DraftKings will also be the exclusive presenting sponsor of the Boston Bruins Foundation 50/50 Raffle. The raffle is promoted online through Bruins social media channels and inside the arena during each game. In addition, DraftKings branding will be included in all signage used by the 50/50 ambassadors throughout TD Garden, and in promotional drops on the HubVision video scoreboard.
Good deal for DraftKings and another brick in the wall as far as the ‘mainstreaming of sports betting’ goes. Now keep your fingers crossed that Massachusetts doesn’t screw up their regulatory framework like New York did.
