The NFL and Genius Sports have agreed to of an expanded sports betting data deal, extending their partnership through the end of the 2027-28 NFL season, the companies announced Thursday.
The extension locks Genius into the coveted partnership through Super Bowl LXII in 2028. The deal expands an groundbreaking agreement Genius signed with the NFL in April 2021, which granted the London-based company exclusive official data rights for NFL games. At the time, the four-year cash-and-equity agreement was valued at $1 billion if additional years were picked up, CNBC reported.
Under the deal, Genius will remain the NFL’s exclusive distributor of real-time, official play-by-play statistics, proprietary Next Gen Stats (“NGS”) data, and the NFL’s official sports betting data feed to media companies and sports betting operators globally. Thursday’s announcement came less than two weeks before the first wave of teams open training camp on July 18.
“We are thrilled to extend our partnership with the NFL for five further seasons from today, through Super Bowl LXII,” said Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports, in a statement. “In just two years, the NFL and Genius Sports have set a new standard for data-driven fan engagement, and we look forward to powering immersive experiences for NFL fans, broadcasters, teams, sportsbooks, brands and more.”
It is unclear how extensively live betting data will be utilized on YouTube TV later this year when the streaming service begins the first season of its lucrative NFL Sunday Ticket contract.
Watch and Bet platform 186957
As part of the deal, the NFL and Genius have also reached a multi-year agreement to distribute the league’s Watch and Bet platform beginning with the 2023-24 NFL regular season. Last December, Caesars Entertainment became the first U.S. sportsbook to stream live game content on NFL Watch and Bet via mobile phones and tablets.
In attempts to enhance the viewing experience for NFL bettors, Genius plans to leverage its machine learning and livestreaming technologies to augment live-betting opportunities for sportsbook partners. Across the industry, many companies have struggled to produce a low-latency video stream that is fast enough to be integrated with the live-betting component in real time.
Outside of the NFL, Genius indicated last month that its A.I.-powered tracking technology will play an integral role in an expanded partnership with three U.K. football leagues, most notably the English Premier League.
Moving forward, Genius may be able to combine live betting with on-screen graphics such as CBS Sports’ RomoVision to provide bettors with unique markets associated with the league’s Next Gen Stats. The sophisticated data could allow bettors to wager, for instance, on New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley’s top-end speed on a given run or Patrick Mahomes’ probability of completing a 20+ yard when facing a blitz.
During the first season of the partnership, NFL in-game wagering among participating sportsbooks represented about 25% of the handle for betting on the sport. NFL in-play handle for the 2022-23 season jumped 40% from the previous season, the company said during a first-quarter earnings presentation in May. For full-year 2024, Genius projects that in-game NFL wagers will increase to approximately 35% of all NFL bets. Genius benefits from the shift to in-game wagering, as the company receives from its sportsbook partners a higher share of in-game revenue than what it earns from pre-game wagers.
“Since our partnership began in 2021, Genius Sports has been an integral part of taking our official data feeds to market and working with sportsbooks to develop new ways for fans to engage with the NFL,” said Brent Lawton, the NFL’s vice president for business development & strategic investments. “We’re excited to extend our relationship with Genius and look forward to working with them to develop the next generation of NFL fans.”
Genius traded in Wednesday’s after-hour session around $6 a share, up 4.79%. Since opening 2023 at $3.60 a share, Genius’ value has surged nearly 70% on the calendar year. Genius shares are still far below their peak of $24.10 in May 2021, about a month after the initial NFL deal was announced.
