The Esports Entertainment Group (EEG) has signed a multi-year partnership with National Football League (NFL) team Baltimore Ravens, to become the franchise’s esports tournament provider.
As part of the agreement, EEG will operate biannual esports tournaments for the Ravens using its Esports Gaming League (EGL) platform.
EGL enables live and online events and tournaments, where gamers can compete and consume content relating to esports and video games on a proprietary technology platform.
EGL services include full turnkey esports events, live broadcast production, game launches and online branded tournaments.
Through the new partnership, EEG will leverage player imagery within the Ravens local market, and work with Ravens players to create custom videos to promote the tournaments.
The videos will be featured in the Ravens’ digital marketing efforts across social, email, mobile and online channels.
“Our esports tournament platform continues to gain strong traction among top-tier professional sports franchises,” said Grant Johnson, chief executive of Esports Entertainment Group.
“We are delighted to add the Ravens as our latest partner. Our robust tournament platform will help the Ravens strengthen connections with their fans, while providing new avenues for engagement.”
Kevin Rochlitz, chief sales officer for Baltimore Ravens, added: “The growing popularity of esports provides a great opportunity for our team to create deeper connections and engagement with our fans. We look forward to a long and mutually rewarding relationship.”
EEG signed a partnership with its first NFL partner, the Philadelphia Eagles, in December last year.
Through the deal, the Eagles became a shareholder of EEG, which in turn will operate bi-annual Madden NFL tournaments for the franchise.
EEG completed its acquisition of the EGL tournament platform in January, and said it expected the business to generate triple-digit growth, after recording $1.3m in revenue in 2019. The deal was first announced in August 2020.
The company recently finalized further binding agreements to acquire B2B software provider and tournament platform ggCircuit, and esports center owner and operator of the Genji Analytics provider, Helix eSports.
The transaction, which is expected to close during the second quarter of 2021, will see EEG pay $43.0m to acquire the two companies, with 50% paid in cash and 50% in EEG shares.