What Can They Do For Us?
Understanding the value of national sponsorship

The question was asked by a 9-Man player, after the release of the new partnership between NIKE and the MCFFU; “What can NIKE do for us?”  “Are they going to lower our fees or something?”  Are you serious?  I don’t think most guy’s in competitive flag are fully aware of tflag football's position at this point in time.  Flag football has no true position; especially the contact styles. 

But to provide an answer to the guy’s "rhetorical question" – nothing.  As JFK would say, “Ask not what NIKE can do for flag, it’s what flag can do for NIKE.” 

NIKE is one of the most recognized brands in the world hosting thousands of events with standing room-only audiences, in all the major sports world-wide, with hundreds of thousands of teams, consisting of millions of amateur and professional players wearing nothing but NIKE apparel all over the world - and you have a guy, wearing a Wal-Mart branded compression shirt, a NBA head-band and pair of Pony cleats, asking what will NIKE do for him? 

What we as flag football aficionados, must ask ourselves is what do we have to offer NIKE?  NIKE is interested in flag football mainly due to the POTENTIAL it has.  There are guy’s playing on teams at this very moment, that own businesses, with a decent advertising budget, looking for the exact same consumers flag offers and they choose not to sponsor or invest.  Did you ever think to ask them way they choose not to? 

NIKE and its national partner of Team Sales, Impact Sports, are developing programs to provide huge savings on football products that we all use; up to 50% off retail, league and tournament support, fundraiser programs designed to assist teams in generating revenue to support themselves and announce their support by placing their logo on flag football events as being the "Official Outfitter".  Who else is doing this for flag football on a national level? 

You support your sponsor and your sponsor supports you; that is how it works.  If a majority of the major tournaments are wearing their products; now we as a “group” have more value to a company such as NIKE to receive more, because we are supporting and contributing to their overall sales. Not one business invests in something for the hell of it and that’s what some are expecting major sponsors to do.

Seriously, NIKE’s name alone provides more recognition to a sport, event or league.  What flag football brand (organization, product or service) currently operating can boast a powerful brand outside of Sonic-Pop? 

The NFL is dominating the youth flag division because it’s the NFL; if NIKE decided to run a national flag football circuit for adults, you would have teams and players who do not even know flag exists looking to play, and every tournament director claiming to be the best in the business, forced to host Horseshoe tournaments.  Brand recognition is power.

So before we questioning the importance, we have to understand that this is just the first step that could potentially lead to something much bigger.  An opportunity has been presented, the same type of opportunity that has been presented to other sports and they took the ball and ran with it, now it’s our turn - so Just Do It.