Happy Wednesday, and welcome back to the 31st weekly edition of Broken Marketing by Anvara, where we discuss marketing that breaks.

For those of you who are new here, we’re Nick and Andrei, the co-founders of Anvara. We’ve included you here because one way or another, we’re connected. We’re happy to have you as a part of the Anvara family.

College sports have never had more assets to sell. What once was just broadcast shout outs and stadium signage has now reached the playing surfaces themselves.

In New York, St. John’s University announced a new multi-year deal with Starr Insurance, placing its logo on the courts at all men’s and women’s basketball games. Starr also sponsors the New York Yankees jersey patch, extending its footprint across professional and college sports while reinforcing its New York identity.

The University of Georgia became the first school to feature on-field logos at Sanford Stadium, adding Delta Air Lines branding on both 25-yard lines during the airline’s 100-year anniversary. Based in Atlanta, Delta has been the official airline of Georgia Athletics for over four decades, and this move deepens a partnership rooted in state pride and shared history.

For schools, these brand partnerships represent new revenue streams in a system blown up by NIL & conference realignment. For agencies like Learfield and JMI Sports, they create entirely new inventory to sell. And for brands, they offer hyper-local exposure to some of the most loyal fan bases in the country.

College sports aren’t just growing in value… they’re selling the ground they play on.

The Intuit Dome will host Olympic basketball in 2028, but Intuit had to cut a check to make sure its name stays on the building it already paid hundreds of millions to brand.

The company signed a deal with the LA28 Olympic organizing committee allowing the arena to keep its Intuit Dome name during the Games. Without it, Olympic policy would have forced the venue to be called the “Inglewood Dome,” since only official Olympic sponsors can appear in broadcasts.

It’s a bizarre concept. 

Intuit already paid to put its name on a billion-dollar arena, and now it has to pay again just to keep it there. It kinda makes you wonder - did Intuit or Clippers ownership know this was coming? When they built the arena hoping it would potentially host Olympic basketball, did anyone realize they’d have to pay a second time just to keep their own logo on the building?

LA28 has a goal of $2.5 billion in domestic sponsorships, and this is one way to get there. Honda has reportedly done the same for the swimming venue, and more brands will likely follow.

From a visibility standpoint, the move makes sense - Olympic basketball will surely deliver global reach for Intuit’s name and logo. But it sets a strange precedent. Owning the stadium used to mean you owned the spotlight.

Now, even if your name’s out front, you still have to buy your way in.

💸 Corpay x NHL — Corpay becomes the official foreign exchange provider of the NHL in a North American partnership, managing currency and cross-border payments for teams and the league. A niche deal, but a valuable one for global operations.

🏁 Freeway x NASCAR — Freeway Insurance fills NASCAR’s insurance category after Geico’s exit, taking over as the official insurance partner. A sign that even legacy sponsorships can switch lanes fast.

🧠 Proofpoint x TGL — Tiger and Rory’s tech-golf league adds cybersecurity firm Proofpoint to its growing roster of partners. It’s a logical fit for a sport built on tech, data, and digital visibility.

🎬 Ari Emanuel Buys It Back — Ari Emanuel’s MARI continues its shopping spree, reacquiring Endeavor’s action sports portfolio. Ari is slowly buying back everything he sold — and doing it at a discount.

DALLAS OPEN — The Dallas Open is the premier ATP 500 event in the U.S., hosted at the Dallas Cowboys’ world headquarters, The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco. 

Quote of the Week

“Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.” — Vince Lombardi