In the NFL — and any business built on keeping brands happy, really — money dictates behavior. Apparently the league’s new, exclusive headphone sponsor Bose hasn’t been very happy that the NFL has been allowing players to support their own personal endorsement deals with competitors like Beats By Dre.
*Cough, cough… Colin Kaepernick.*
Bose headphones are now the official “headphones” of the NFL, which means that The League has banned players from wearing Beats By Dre headphones during official NFL broadcasts like press conferences, locker room interviews, getting off team buses, etc. Players will still be able to shoot commercials and such, but when they’re on the clock in an official NFL capacity, it’s Bose all the way. Via CBS Sports:
Bose signed a long-term deal with the NFL in March that allows the company to put its logo on headsets worn by coaches. The deal also allows Bose to ask the NFL to keep players and coaches from wearing anyone else’s headphones.
Basically, players won’t be allowed to wear Beats headphones before games or at any other time where cameras might be around at an NFL event. The game day ban runs until 90 minutes after a game has finished. The Beats ban also includes any training camp or offseason workout session where a player might be interviewed on-camera.
The photo at the top of the page shows Richard Sherman wearing Beats as he gets off the plane in New Jersey before Super Bowl XLVIII. That’s something Sherman wouldn’t be able to do if he were in a similar position at the end of this season.
Beats clearly isn’t very happy about the policy change, especially since they’re spending big bucks with Colin Kaepernick and Richard Sherman. Here’s a statement they gave to Re/Code, which originally broke the story:
Beats issued a statement saying that its headphones have become part of the pre-game preparations for professional athletes like Kaepernick.
“Over the last few years athletes have written Beats into their DNA as part of the pre-game ritual,” a Beats spokesperson said. “Music can have a significant positive effect on an athlete’s focus and mental preparedness and has become as important to performance as any other piece of equipment.”
It hasn’t been disclosed how much Bose is paying for the NFL headphones rights, but CBS notes that The League’s previous deal with Motorola was$40 million-a-year for 13 years.
As much as this deal is about the $$$$$$$$$, it’s hard to dislike the NFL for forcing its players to wear a far superior, less douche-y product, right?
#teambose #dadheadphones #bassisnteverything