The Raymond James Stadium Hosts The Super Bowl, So Hear From The Man Himself (Sort Of) On The Game

On Super Bowl weekend, our Meet The Team piece comes from an experienced member of the iSPORTCONNECT team, Ray James, on the weekend that a stadium bearing his name hosts the global event.

Super Bowl LV takes place this weekend, meaning it’s the red-eye time of year, as my fellow UK viewers watch into the early hours while our friends down under watch over breakfast, likely beer in hand I’m sure.

Now while I’m not an influencer, however on this occasion I’ll take the mantle as the Ray James name will be broadcast in over 175 countries this weekend, maybe I should’ve been the one to become a millionaire from this influencer business!

This weekend the Super bowl comes to a screen near you from the world-famous Raymond James Stadium, also known as the lovely patch of grass across my back garden in the sunny south of England.

Hang on, another Ray James in Tampa has stolen my thunder apparently!

Back to the serious side of things and it’s interesting to note that some of the major advertisers have opted not to advertise around the 2021 Super Bowl. Budweiser have had a mid-game advert every year from 1983 until now, while Coca-Cola and Pepsi have also opted not to take the opportunity this year.

“Without a full capacity stadium and social distancing it will likely be the most unique Super Bowl of all time.”

That could be deemed the reason that 30-second ad’s during this year’s game have dropped in comparison to the previous year for the first time since 2010, the $5.5 million of 2021 being $100,000 lower than the 2020 event.

This could be seen as slightly surprising, as the Super Bowl product remains one of the most sought-after and iconic events of every year.

With the Australian Open tennis grand slam yet to take place, this weekend’s showpiece now takes the lead as the first major sporting event of 2021, and maybe the biggest since the Covid-19 pandemic hit alongside last season’s UEFA Champions League Final.

You could argue that if anything this is going to make the event more watchable, as without a full capacity stadium and social distancing it will likely be the most unique Super Bowl of all time.

According to Adweek.com, last year’s Super Bowl had a total audience of 113.4 million people in the USA, and late last month they reported that CBS had stated Super Bowl LV was ‘virtually sold out’, but compare that to 2020 which saw the all of the opportunities gone with two months to spare.

“7,500 spectators will be vaccinated health workers who have been invited by the NFL, with all 32 teams in the league inviting workers from their communities.”

The two major players in this contest are Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes, and both have huge commercial value, Brady as one of the greatest NFL players ever and Mahomes as a younger superstar.

Brady’s commercial deal with Under Armour is a particularly interesting one, as he opted to take stocks in the company rather than payment, something which will likely have paid off for him over the years.

While Mahomes has his NFL-record contract of a staggering $503 million over the next ten years with the Kansas City Chiefs, he also has a vast array of sponsorship deals with the likes of Adidas, he also holds partnerships with State Farm, Adidas and Procter and Gamble, who will certainly be looking at their investment positively as he continues his ascendance on the world stage even more.

In this COVID year there will only be 25,000 people within the stadium alongside 30,000 cardboard cutouts, mirroring something we saw from many sports team this past 12 months.

Of those attendees, 7,500 will be vaccinated health workers who have been invited by the NFL, with all 32 teams in the league inviting workers from their communities.

“Other events taking place this year may not be as fortunate and might see their commercial revenues drop.”

This is a great gesture and it would be nice to see this trend continued at other major events later this year as a way to give thanks back to the people who have been working the hardest to keep us safe at this time.

So as we looking deeper into 2021, will a lower commercial spend be seen across all major events?

Postponed events such as the Olympics and EURO2020 had their sponsors locked in and they will likely almost all carry over, but other events taking place this year may not be as fortunate and might see their commercial revenues drop.

Hopefully we will see the Super Bowl back to its usual self in 2022, alongside a boom once again for all sports when full stadiums are likely to be expected and the uncertainty around events, and the businesses sponsoring them, is lifted.

As for the game, I’ll take Kansas City to win by two touchdowns, enjoy the game! From the real Raymond James.