FaZe Clan partners with NFL ahead of Super Bowl

Ahead of the Super Bowl LVI, North American esports organization FaZe Clan and the National Football League (NFL) have teamed up to explore "the convergence of football and gaming."

The details: The deal, perhaps surprisingly, will go beyond this year's iteration of one of sports' flagship events: the Super Bowl.

• The aim of the deal is the cross-pollination of their audiences, according to a release.
• First collaborating in 2019, the strengthened relationship will now include a co-branded flag football game during the Super Bowl Experience, seeing the org's biggest personalities go up against another group of creators.
• FaZe Clan and the NFL will also work together to integrate FaZe members into future co-branded content and events. While no details were specified, they'll also look to find other opportunities to connect the league to other personalities, creators, and players from gaming and esports.

The reasoning: There's not a lot of crossover between the NFL and FaZe Clan at first glance, beyond that some football players like to play games.

• A small link between the two entities is that NFL quarterback Kyler Murray is part of the gaming collective, known in the gaming sphere as 'FaZe K1.'
• The NFL is looking to increase viewership and engagement from a younger demographic, many of which are avid gamers and, potentially, fans of FaZe Clan. The esports org claims that 80% of its audience is between 13 and 34 years of age.
• “Teaming up with FaZe enables us to leverage our platforms to authentically engage with and celebrate the next generation of fans at the intersection of gaming, football, and culture," said NFL's Senior Vice President of Social, Influencer & Content Marketing, Ian Trombetta.
• Why FaZe Clan in particular? As well as having one of the largest audiences in gaming, the org made headlines in October 2021 when it announced its intentions to list itself on the Nasdaq at a billion-dollar valuation. For some, this cemented the company's perception as the biggest organization in the esports business.