At this year's NFL draft, some of the league's top prospects were asked questions they weren't used to. "What is a skort?" an interviewer asked. Travis Hunter made his best guess. "What is primer?" she continued. Shemar Stewart wasn't sure. The questions were part of a social media video asking players about women's products, created by Betches, a media company catering to a young female audience. The clip earned 1.5 million views on Instagram, and while it might not be traditional NFL content, it's resonating and building on the league's push to attract young women via partnerships with women-centered media outlets, per the AP.
The league partnered with Betches last December and finalized a partnership with the Gist, a female-fan-focused sports site, in August. The NFL has long seen women as key to their efforts to broaden the league's appeal, a push that gained extra momentum after Taylor Swift began her highly publicized relationship with Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. "As we want to connect with this audience, authentic, real storytelling is absolutely key," said Marissa Solis, a senior VP with the NFL. "So rather than doing targeted ads that really don't connect ... you give access to [Betches and the Gist], but they tell the story in their own point of view, being there, front and center. ... That connection is something paid advertising can't do."
Both outlets receive access to NFL tentpole events—the Super Bowl, the draft, and the scouting combine, to name a few—to create articles and content for their platforms, alongside additional league content. Betches, for example, kicked off a tailgate tour series as part of its partnership, and the Gist debuted a free game for predicting each week's winners. The partnerships are all in pursuit of growing and engaging the league's large female fanbase, a demographic that has often been underestimated or overlooked. A September poll by Ipsos found that 41% of American women were NFL fans.
story continues below
That translates into the potential for big business, leading the NFL to turn to outlets that already have deep connections with women. "We center women in everything that we do. It's not an afterthought, it's not like you are adding the 'W' to the end of ESPN," says Gist co-founder Jacie deHoop. "More data and research on women is showing what an underserved and huge audience and fan base this is."
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
