NFL launches leaders’ program to expand Retail Licensing Portfolio

by Pat Freeman, The Mighty O’Ba

Pat Freeman, The Mighty O’Ba

The NFL is certainly doing things to help to level the economic participation in the use of the NFL brand. This program will no doubt give the business owners access to NFL licensing, which will help open the door that has normally been closed to marginalized community businesses. The problem that I have with the league pertains to the economic policies of the 32 individual owners, which could easily make a difference in the regions where their franchises are located.

The current owner of the franchise in West ern New York still has not created reciprocal relationships that would grow the economic bene fit of having an NFL franchise in this region. The professional franchise can put pressure on its sponsors to do business with accredited media outlets that cover the franchise on a full-time basis. This would help those entities pay competitive salaries to their journalists that cover the team on a regular basis. This writer has covered the professional franchise for 31 years, struggling to keep up with other outlets who receive these residual economic benefits.

The four outlets I speak of are the Buffalo Criterion Newspaper, Challenger Community News, 105.5 the Beat, and Power 96.5 radio who have provided cover age of the franchise on a year-round basis for years, but with some struggle because of the Segregated Economics practiced by the local NFL franchise. This grossly unfair practice is a story I hear all over the country by Accredited African American media outlets that cover these franchises on a regular basis.

Reciprocal business relationships help both parties involved, but the franchise here thinks that our outlets are insignificant. This practice is occurring in every NFL city that I have visited, and it’s become normal accepted practice. If each individual owner would just create reciprocal relationships in their respective regions, it would better solve this league wide issue. Many of the more recent policies are good but this issue must be solved on an individual franchise basis to make it effective.

Western New York could be the franchise model if the ownership group would commit to increasing recipro cal relationships with accredited media outlets that cover the franchise on a regular basis. This would in turn increase the effectiveness of league wide policy to increase diversity and inclusion.