Have NFL Teams Perfected Draft Coverage?

👋 Welcome back to Sponcon Sports, a weekly newsletter dedicated to sponsored content strategy in the sports industry!

The Mercedes x WhatsApp partnership was my pick for 2024’s Best Digital Partnership and this duo kept that momentum in 2025.

Everyone was ready to crown them for the launch of The Seat on Netflix (myself included). But did it live up to the headlines and industry hype?

I watched it—and yeah, it did.

It’s emotionally resonant.
The doc follows 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli’s rise from karting prodigy to stepping into one of the most coveted seats in motorsport. The scene where he’s learning how to pit in an F1 car, and later his FP1 crash in Monza, really drive home the stakes. It’s a classic story of growing pains, pressure, and persistence—and it hits.

The brand integration feels natural.
WhatsApp is shown as the connective tissue between Antonelli and the Mercedes team. There are plenty of moments with messages and group calls, but it never crosses into overly branded territory. That may be thanks to Netflix’s stricter guidelines. That said, WhatsApp has proven time and again it can show up in sports storytelling without making it feel like an ad.

It’s timed perfectly.
With Antonelli stepping into a huge role at Mercedes, the timing of this release is no accident. It ends with a look at his successful debut, which makes the story feel current and forward-looking. And with Drive to Survive already out, The Seat feels complementary to Netflix’s F1 ecosystem.

It’s Netflix, not YouTube—for a reason.
Worth pointing out: The Seat is 4x longer than Push, Push, the short film WhatsApp and Mercedes made about Lewis Hamilton’s career. With cinematic production value, it made sense to go to Netflix instead of YouTube—where sometimes a great idea can outperform great production. This was both.

They didn’t stop at the film.
To mark the launch, Mercedes ran a sweepstakes offering fans a WhatsApp call with Kimi (in English or Italian). Smart move—it capitalizes on the moment, drives engagement, and gives fans rare access to a driver who might be the future of the team.

In Today’s Edition:

• NFL Draft Scouting Report - Part 2 📋️

• F1 Brick By Brick 🏎️

• Liberty Jersey Meets Jingle 🗽

🏊️ DEEP DIVE
Who Won The NFL Draft Online?

It’s clear the NFL has carved out a league of its own when it comes to content.

Every little moment was captured—and often sponsored—by the NFL and its 32 teams. Whether you’re a casual fan or a diehard, the coverage delivered.

Let’s get into the numbers and trends.

Primary Sponsorship

Twenty-three of 32 teams (72%) had a primary sponsor for their draft coverage—down slightly from 26 teams in 2024.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had a different sponsor for each of the three days:

• Day 1: Cadillac

• Day 2: Donovan Air, Electric & Plumbing

• Day 3: Dream Finders Homes

The Denver Broncos had a 1A-1B situation. Invisalign sponsored their 2025 NFL Draft, while Ford backed their Road to the Draft content, which ran before and during the event.

Branded War Rooms

Four teams had branded war rooms:

• New York Giants: Crestron

• Minnesota Vikings: Thomson Reuters

• Jaguars: Dream Finders Homes

• Los Angeles Rams: Zillow

The Rams took it up a notch, making their picks from the LA Fire Department’s Air Operations HQ in honor of the first responders who battled wildfires. The announcement video pulled in over 1M views on YouTube.

Draftee Phone Calls

Every team posted clips of their draft picks getting “the call.” The Broncos were the only team that didn’t show the front office’s POV.

Verizon led all brands, sponsoring six teams’ calls—plus a seventh if you count the Houston Texans’ selfie cam. Given the natural fit, AT&T (Dallas Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons) showed up twice. If a phone carrier wasn’t involved, the segment was often bundled into the team’s primary sponsorship package (e.g. Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals).

As mentioned last week, Verizon leveled up this year by setting up a branded activation space at the Draft to film players calling loved ones.

Three standout brand integrations:

• Carolina Panthers: My favorite. An animation mimicked the iPhone swipe-to-answer screen with “The Call” text, which then revealed the Verizon logo. Subtle and smart.

• Miami Dolphins: Carried over their animated upper-third from 2024, tying “The Call presented by Verizon” seamlessly into the moment.

• Cincinnati Bengals: Their Integrity Express Logistics-branded animation had a fresh visual flair that stood out.

YouTube Content

Twenty four of 32 teams (75%) livestreamed during the draft.

Only the Philadelphia Eagles and Bengals didn’t upload a YouTube video (not counting Shorts).

NFL Draft Winners?

The Giants crushed it on Day 1, trading back into the first round to take QB Jaxson Dart after selecting Abdul Carter at No. 3.

They earned:

• +47% more impressions than any other team

• +47% more engagements

• +64% more social value generated

Zoomph ranked them No. 2 overall in social value by the draft’s end.

They also dominated sponsor integration—I counted at least 12 brands involved in their draft coverage, both online and on-site.

The Seattle Seahawks had a standout year:

• Night 1: They leaned into Grey Zabel’s pre-draft Catan hobby by designing a custom Catan card for his pick announcement.

• Arrival: Surprised Zabel with his favorite beer, Busch Light (via Anheuser-Busch partnership).

• Minicamp: Gifted rookies their favorite Starbucks drinks—including a follow-up graphic based on Nick Emmanwori’s hilariously complicated order (over 500K impressions on X).

• Data content: Integrated AWS to show how their class ranked athletically against the league.

NFL Stays Strong

The league had strong showings again:

• New Era Draft Cam returned. It was my top pick in 2024.

• Draft IQ powered by AWS debuted—an Amazon QuickSight dashboard featuring big boards, a cheat sheet, and an AI assistant to answer fan questions.

Creator Collaborations

The league also brought its A-game on the creator marketing front.

• Betches Sports “gaslighted” draftees with girly questions.

• Jazzy’s World surprised players on the Toyota red carpet with loved ones hopping out of cars mid-interview.

• Ike Wynter, a local wood artist, carved all 32 team logos, placed along the players' walk to the stage. After Travis Hunter tapped his logo, other draftees followed suit.

At the team level:

• New Orleans Saints: Brought in Theo Ash for a film breakdown of first-rounder Kelvin Banks Jr.

• Giants: Invited Sidetalk to their draft party at MetLife. Energy delivered.

Before The Draft

Some great content dropped before teams were even on the clock:

• Jaguars: Asked players what they wished they knew pre-draft. The responses were real and insightful.

• Giants: Had former rookies rewatch their draft calls on a Microsoft Surface.

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Revisited Mike Evans’ first day in 2014—reminding us why it’s crucial to capture those moments.

• Los Angeles Chargers: Took a fun approach by having their GM “scout” fictional players from football movies.

• Kansas City Chiefs: Dropped a simple but effective school heat map of past draft pick origins.

Inside The Draft Room

Teams opened doors—literally and figuratively:

• Chargers: Brought fans into the war room.

• Vikings: Highlighted what happens after the draft—undrafted free agent strategy.

• Seahawks: Gave a peek at what food gets served in the draft room (which fans always love).

First 24 Hours

The post-draft arrival content is critical—and teams leaned into it.

The Eagles (First Trust Bank), Bucs (Sony), Chargers (Hyundai), and New England Patriots (Gillette) each had sponsored long-form videos capturing their first-rounders' first 24 hours. These averaged 75.5K views—on average 4.8x better than their typical uploads (via View Stats).

The best integration? The Pats with A Fresh Face in Foxborough presented by Gillette. Smart title, perfect fit—and it pulled 110K+ views.

The Eagles went back to the well, optimizing a later Unscripted episode, their YouTube all-access show, with the title 96 Hours Inside the Eagles Draft Room.

The Cowboys once again gave Invisalign a full-day takeover aligned with their #WinningSmiles campaign. New this year: Lucchese Bootmaker gifted Tyler Booker his first custom boots and foot tracing, a new tradition in Dallas.

The 49ers (Toyota), Detroit Lions (Ford), and Panthers (GMC) all created content highlighting their auto partners when players arrived.

Behind the Scenes Content

While the draft was live, brands and creators gave us all-access looks:

• @arikarmstead: Took us inside his Jaguars pick announcement (and showed the moment he learned about the trade-up).

• @uniswag: Gave a peek inside the prep room for draftee outfits.

• @nflstyle: Highlighted how New Era caps get steam-pressed.

• @fanatics: Showed Travis Hunter’s jersey being made moments after he was drafted.

Rookie Minicamp & Equipment Fittings

Post-draft content rolled right into rookie minicamp.

• Seahawks: Highlighted rookie equipment fittings—timeless content teams can replicate year-round.

• Browns: Shared how players choose their jersey numbers—a fresh angle. Fun fact: picks can be temporary but must be finalized by Week 1.

The Takeaway

There’s something powerful about the NFL Draft—those raw, emotional, once-in-a-lifetime moments.

And when brands get it right, they don’t steal the spotlight. They support the story. This year, more than ever, we saw how thoughtful partnerships can elevate content without taking anything away from the athlete’s big moment.

🔍️ SPONCONSPIRATION
Steal These Ideas

[Social Value: $11,958] F1 and LEGO is truly a partnership made in content heaven. A 400,000-brick Ferrari pulled in 1M impressions on X alone. But when 10 life-sized LEGO cars were at the center of the Miami Grand Prix driver’s parade, this partnership took the early lead for partnership of the year.

[Social Value: $965,411] This Liverpool-Live Nation collab couldn’t get much better as the video showed Reds fans singing Dua Lipa’s One Kiss—promoting a last chance at tickets for her upcoming Anfield concert.

[Social Value: $15,744] McLaren's Lando Norris rewatched his first career F1 win on the anniversary of his Miami victory—using a Google Pixel throughout the video to relive the race.

[Social Value: $560,016] The NHL dropped a Dude Perfect doubleheader. First, Tyler Toney and Garrett Hilbert were mic’d up at Game 5 of Stars-Avalanche. Then Tyler took on the Impossible Hockey Wall challenge—joined by Zac Bell (@alwayshockey) and The Stanley Cup.

[Social Value: $1,648] This edition of Stadium Status from Front Office Sports was a perfect match for Daktronics—and tailor-made for short-form. It gave fans a closer look at the new Tennessee Titans stadium, spotlighted its standout feature (LED screens’ size and scale), and neatly tied in the sponsor to round out the story.

[Social Value: $1,170] New York Liberty 🤝 Liberty Mutual. Sometimes the obvious move is also the right one. The team leaned into its new jersey sponsor’s jingle and mascot in a well-executed announcement video.

*Social value is defined as the full equivalent media value of this social post based on applicable impressions, video views, and engagements.

🚨 ICYMI
What To Watch For

From Threads To WhatsApp: Andy Selby sat down with Will Pithers, Strategic Partner Manager for Sports at Meta, on the Sports Loft podcast to talk through how sports organizations are maximizing Meta’s suite of platforms.

Algorithm Hacked: Dan Marrazza dove into the X algorithm to uncover how it’s changed—and what kinds of engagement now drive the most reach.

Creator Mock Draft: Threads teamed up with top creators for its first-ever #NFLThreads Community Mock Draft [via Will Yoder, Meta].

Meta’s Power Play: If you’re trying to scale content, analyze performance, or elevate the fan experience, Shripal Shah (Next League’s Chief Digital Officer) breaks down why Meta’s new AI update is worth a closer look.

Youth Sports Shift: If you think YouTube is enough to reach young fans, John WallStreet highlighted why Roblox needs a spot in your playbook.