NFL football is back. New tackling rules, player safety talks and a bevy of hot topic issues are up for debate on TV, talk radio and social media. A Super Bowl winner will be crowned, players will compete for jobs and a side of pride during training camp and fans will fill stadiums to cheer on their teams until blue in the face. This all sounds typical, right? It does until you realize that I'm talking about eSports. This new frontier of sports could alter how the NFL engages with consumers, repositions its product and is perceived by the next generation. There has been some dabbling in eSports by the NFL but not the full plunge. Below are a few reasons why diving deeper into eSports is a win-win for the nation's most powerful sports league looking to reach a global audience.
American football's global reach and appeal still has room to grow compared to other sports. NFL league executives understand this, as their London game is a ploy to reach an emerging market for its sport--Europe. Soccer and basketball have strongholds on consumers' interest in the global sports space. The NBA's Basketball Without Borders initiative, foreign stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kristaps Porzingis and broadcast deals with foreign partners are indicators of a sport and league in a healthy state. The rise of MLS franchises, the World Cup's popularity and strong viewership of European soccer is a clear indicator that soccer is in a good spot too. Hockey and baseball certainly reach a global audience of their own, the NHL boasting a lot of European players, and baseball having strong ties to Asia and Central America and the rise of the World Baseball Classic. You know what sport reaches every part of the world and then some? eSports.
The scale of eSports is something that cannot and should not be understated. With the ability to stream games to millions of viewers in every part of the world, eSports should be followed closely by anyone working in the sports and entertainment industry, but especially for a league like the NFL looking to expand its audience and have a presence in the global sports space. Creating a league similar to the NBA 2K league is a must for the NFL over the next couple of years. Initially, starting a league with traditional teams and players might be useful for branding purposes and introducing its league to a new audience. Eventually moving to custom player and teams would be the goal, especially stateside where fans are more familiar with players and teams. ESPN, TNT and other major networks are investing heavily into media rights for eSports, and for good reason. It's still early in terms of understanding the true ROI of eSports, but it will only become more popular as time passes. (427 million viewers by 2019)
NFL stars including OBJ and Antonio Brown are known in the states, but B-level, C-level stars simply aren't recognized as much as a B-level NBA star like Damian Lillard, or even players like Nick Young and J.R. Smith, who are household memes on social media. Football players have the unfortunate privilege of wearing helmets throughout the game (safety first kids), and this can hurt their brand or as scholars and advertising pundits call it, Q-score. In turn, these players may not seem as accessible, recognizable or relatable to fans versus other sports. Social media has changed that to some extent, but it is worth mentioning as a deterrent when thinking about branding.
Fans watching on TV or streaming device certainly might have a harder time deciphering who players are when they are playing and fans at games might have a harder time telling the difference. NFL players' celebrity status is not an issue when you're talking about a quarterback, larger-than-life presence like J.J. Watt or all-time great like Tom Brady, but for everyone else, it's more of an issue. If the NFL invested in an eSports league, more fans and consumers of sport might become more familiar with players and even teams through watching NFL eSports games. With names hovering over players in video games and players representing a specific player during an eSports competition, there is a lot of room for people to grow and learn about the NFL abroad.
Fantasy football has definitely kept eyeballs glued to the NFL, but imagine if people outside of the United States started to follow the NFL more because of eSports? That crowd is entirely different than a typical NFL crowd, meaning there are new ways to reach and speak to them. A typical NFL fan may know a lot of statistics, history and other information, but reaching a new audience requires new marketing ideas, new strategies and newer ways of thinking to influence them and help them understand football better. The NFL could use eSports as a way to introduce and enhance the game of football to kids and consumers in other countries and continents and even focus on grassroots marketing efforts.
There have been football eSports ventures including the Madden NFL Club Championship, where individuals have competed against other gamers, but there has not been a team format similar to the NBA 2K league. Understandably, this solo competition makes sense given the amount of players needed on a NFL team versus NBA team, but even instilling a 7-on-7 format would be an interesting proposition to pitch. Football is a team sport like none other, but there would definitely have to be a few tweaks to how a NFL eSports league is assembled in a cost effective way for each franchise. If the NFL were to stick with traditional 11-on-11 mode, they could have users play as quarterback, running back, tight end and two wide receivers and make the rest of the players operate in computer mode. As such, you'd have five players on each team like the NBA 2K league.
More importantly, an official NFL eSports league could shift attention away from more serious issues the NFL has dealt with in recent years including domestic violence, politics and CTE. That's not to say these issues should be swept under a rug, but this product extension that is eSports could shed some positive publicity on the NFL. ESports is unique in the sense it does not do physical harm on bodies (save for those that argue that carpal tunnel syndrome is comparable to tendinitis) but still has remnants of the original sport and is virtually the same. Being able to watch an eSports-sanctioned NFL game is less painful (in the physical sense) because someone's health is not at stake from a bone-crushing or illegal hit. While devoted fans will continue to watch traditional NFL games and may scoff at eSports in the beginning, there is certainly room for eSports to soften the blows that do come from the violent play that is inherent with football.
ESports games are also much quicker than traditional NFL games, making this appealing to consumers but also, advertisers looking to reach a large audience in a shorter amount of time. Being able to appeal to global audience also lends itself to a wider variety of potential sponsors within the esports and traditional ad space. When sponsors are confident their name will be seen by millions globally in different markets, it makes a partnership much more attractive.
A younger generation is latching on to eSports at a breakneck pace. While the NFL and other leagues should be careful in catering to an audience that does not have comparable discretionary income to spend on its main product offering, season tickets, and other related products, the passion that younger generations have for eSports can be tied into events at arenas on non-game days that encourages fans to consume the team's product and football. As a business, generating revenue and keeping your product top of mind with fans is more important than ever in this entertainment-driven world. Finding ways to use eSports as a revenue driver for other areas of business like retail and events is a pragmatic way to usher in a new generation of fans, engage them and position the NFL's brand in a positive, forward-thinking way.
Do you think eSports will take off in the NFL, NHL and MLB soon? Leave a comment below!