DraftKings Becomes NFL's First Official Daily Fantasy Partner

Published on September 29th, 2019 12:10 am EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Remember a few years ago when a scandal and DraftKings and Fanduel seemed like it might mark the end to a promising young industry?

Things have changed dramatically since that time, and today provided the clearest evidence of that, as the NFL and DraftKings officially inked a deal.

Under the terms of the deal, DraftKings will become the NFL's first official daily fantasy partner. As part of the deal, DraftKings will get access to NFL branding, plus the two sides will collaborate on content and product offerings.

The agreement between the two sides is careful to point out that it does not extend into the world of sports betting.

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A few years ago, the daily fantasy industry was thriving.

A number of NFL owners took stakes in the major players in the industry, while ESPN and DraftKings inked an advertising deal that was set to propel the industry to even greater heights.

In a case of horrible timing, a scandal erupted that very nearly took down the industry.

Employees from both DraftKings and Fanduel were using non-public data to construct line-ups on their competitor's sites (employees were forbidden from playing on their own sites). This was a big advantage, as knowledge of ownership numbers offers a major advantage that the general public doesn't get to enjoy.

Employees from DraftKings and Fanduel were winning a number of major contests on each other's sites, and eventually this got out. The fallout was severe - numerous states cracked down on the industry, while ESPN backed out of their deal with DraftKings.

Since that point, the industry has slowly repaired the damage and now seems set to propel to even greater heights.

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With this deal, the industry has received even more legitimacy, and I would expect Fanduel to sign a similar deal with the NFL next.

Source: DraftKings.com - NFL Selects DraftKings As Its First Official Daily Fantasy Partner