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I’d love to sit here and tell everybody that the absolute biggest naming rights deal of the last week was our announcement that we’re sponsoring a DIII Bowl Game.

And look, that is big news. But I will begrudgingly admit that yes, Pitbull is more famous than we are.

In case you missed this earlier, Mr. Worldwide entered into what the school is calling an “unprecedented partnership” with Florida International University. As part of that deal, FIU Stadium will become Pitbull Stadium, or at least, for the next five years.

FIU will get $1.2 million in annual sponsorship payments, according to Sportico, and for a school like FIU, that’s a very significant chunk of change….it’s roughly double what the school is currently reporting in sponsorship and licensing revenue, after all. $1.2M a year would be solid money for the naming rights to a smaller stadium and lower profile program. In 2015, Utah State signed a naming rights deal for under $400,000 a year, for example. More recently, Texas State signed a 15-year, $23 million partnership with University Federal Credit Union.

But honestly, I don’t think the cash is necessarily the biggest part of the story here. It’s everything else that’s attached to the partnership that makes the Pitbull deal more than just a standard stadium naming rights project. This has the potential to be a massive win not just for FIU, but for Pitbull…and potentially other artists.

There are standard perks…and there are perks

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