By Andy Serwer
Looks like American Express is ready for some football.
The National Football League and American Express are announcing today that Amex will become the official credit card and payments partner of the NFL, replacing a three-decade relationship with Visa.
Over the course of the seven-year deal that begins April 1, Amex could pay the NFL in excess of $900 million.
As is often the case, this deal's origin story begins on a golf course -- though not just any golf course. Amex CEO Stephen Squeri says he knew the NFL's contract with Visa was expiring and approached NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last April at the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
"Approach is a nice way of putting it," says Goodell, chuckling. "Steve almost knocked me over."
Squeri doesn't deny he came on strong. "The way to think about the Masters is that it is the largest CEO pickup joint in the world. There are no phones. There's a big oak tree where everybody congregates. You have your head on a swivel. Even if you're talking to your wife, you're not looking at her because you're scanning the crowd. I saw Roger Goodell. He was talking to Peyton Manning. I go, 'Excuse me, can I talk to Roger?' [Squeri gestures moving Manning aside.] I said to Roger, 'Look, I know this [Visa deal] is up. You may or may not be considering American Express, let me tell you why you should be."
"I loved it, because you could see his passion," says Goodell, who later recounted the story to the NFL's 32 team owners. At the NFL's annual meeting today at the Biltmore in Phoenix, the owners were briefed on the final deal.
Amex cardholders will get per-sale access to international game tickets, such as the coming tilt between the Rams and 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, on Sept. 11, and perhaps other games such as the Super Bowl at some point. Amex will go big at the NFL draft in Pittsburgh later next month, where it will have priority lanes for events, fan experience sections, and merchandising.
Later this year, Amex and the NFL will introduce the NFL Extra Points American Express credit card, with a rewards program geared toward NFL experiences, game tickets, and merchandise.
The Sports Business Journal reported general terms of the deal earlier.
"We always look for brands that are compatible and simpatico. The NFL is a great brand, and we have a great brand," says Squeri. "When you look at the NFL's reach, and the customer the NFL is looking to target, that is a home run for us. Scratch that. It's a touchdown with a two-point conversion!"
"I'm confident in the value of our content and our partnerships. And that Steve understands when he makes an investment, he's expected to make sure that it shows returns, not just for his cardholders, but for his company," says Goodell. "I think we will prove that Steve was right."
The deal is one of the biggest single sponsorships for the NFL and marketing spends by Amex. "It's a lot of money," acknowledges Squeri, a long-suffering Jets fan and ticket holder. "But it depends on your perspective. We spent $6.3 billion [last year] on marketing. We don't do anything that doesn't have an ROI. This is a phenomenal return on investment for us. For instance, when you look at some of the other NFL partners, we have opportunities now to partner with them jointly, which I think will be coming down the road."
The NFL is the nation's biggest, most popular, and most lucrative sports league, with its games dominating TV ratings. Tens of millions of Americans watch at least part of an NFL broadcast on a typical weekend. Payments for the rights to broadcast games keep growing, so far defying predictions that those values will level off or fall.
Amex has been a major player in sports sponsorships for decades, including the NFL, where it partners with the Giants, Jets, Falcons, and Dolphins, as well as their stadiums. Teams and stadiums can have local card sponsorship deals. Visa, for instance, will still be the official card of the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers. Amex is also the official card of the NBA, WNBA, Formula One, U.S. Open (tennis and golf), Wimbledon, and major pro soccer teams in Europe and the U.S.
While Squeri and Goodell are new to each other, Amex and the NFL aren't. The first television series Amex ever sponsored was with NFL Films back in 1967 for a show called NFL Action. Amex is banking on plenty more of that.
Write to Andy Serwer at andy.serwer@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 30, 2026 16:42 ET (20:42 GMT)
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