On NFL Draft Days April 23-25 Draft Prospects must make sure they ARE NOT showing or consuming Non-NFL Sponsors/Partners

**********Here’s an interesting post sent to us today on the upcoming NFL Draft, coming into us today per The Action Network…..**********
(Sort of makes you wonder if it is time for some of these NFL prospects to start thinking about ‘Dodging the Draft’…That might get a little dicey, since they need to get in the league by way of the Draft to reach their full potential, but maybe the players will have to find a way to start “Dogging the Draft”.)

And now here is that feature post, from The Action Network:

If an NFL draft prospect is drinking out of a soda can while being shown on the April 23-25 broadcast, it can’t be Coca-Cola. And if he’s eating candy, it can’t be a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

Those are only two of the rules on a long list of corporate do’s and don’ts the NFL has sent to draft prospects and their marketers ahead of the completely-virtual broadcast to ensure that its 50 official league sponsors and partners are protected and not ambushed by non-league partners on one of the biggest nights in sports.

According to the memo obtained by The Action Network, the NFL maintains that — although the players who will be featured on the telecast haven’t signed contracts — their appearance is property of the NFL.

“Do NOT have any products displaying brands or logos that have not been approved by the NFL within camera range of your feed for the NFL Draft broadcast,” the memo reads.

Prospective draftees will receive a welcome kit of products from NFL partners, including the following PepsiCo products: Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Bubly, Gatorade and Frito Lay snacks such as Cheetos, Doritos and Tostitos. Mars candy will also be included, which means Skittles, Snickers and M&M’s.

Marketers aren’t exactly thrilled with the arrangement, saying it imposes terms of players who aren’t yet in the league.

“What happens if a player has a partnership with a league partner like Bose and a non-league partner, like some chicken place?” asked one marketer, who preferred to remain anonymous. “They’re not going to show the feed and hurt the league partner?”

Another marketer said being allowed to negotiate only with league partners will cost potential top draft picks between $5,000 and $50,000 in one-off marketing opportunities on draft day.

Players’ clothing is also being closely dictated: They cannot wear logos of any brand other than an NFL team or an official league partner such as Nike, Adidas, Under Armour or New Era. Their clothing is also expected to be clean, free of liberal or hate speech, and cannot make a political statement. References to alcohol, drugs or gambling (including poker) are prohibited as well.

CLICK HERE to read more on this one, from the Action Network…..