NFL teams and owners haven’t been investing in esports at anywhere near the same clip as their NBA counterparts (see Exhibits A, B, C and D) or other leagues overseas. One NFL free agent Ricky Lumpkin, who is also a co-owner of esports organization FlipSid3 Tactics, offered his own explanation.
When asked by host Manny Anekal on The Next Level eSports Guest Podcast why is the NFL sitting on the sidelines from investing in esports compared to other leagues like the NBA, Lumpkin said that the NFL “operates differently.”
“You gotta look, the NBA embraced social media really early, and you gotta look at Turner’s involvement with ELEAGUE there,” Lumpkin said to Anekal. “It’s easy for basketball players and orgs. to see this. They can have that trust factor already. The NFL isn’t sitting on the sidelines but they do things a little differently. Like recently, we’re speaking at Epsilon a few weeks ago, and it’s public knowledge they’re working with NFL teams already to try and bridge the gap. With football being the biggest sport in America, it’s just a luxury of their time. It’s hard. It’s harder for them to get in. They’re a little more wary about how can I make this work?”
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Last month, Green Bay Packers linebacker Blake Martinez, who is a huge fan of Dota 2 and has been live streaming for charity lately, also recently weighed in on the NFL getting more involved in esports. He even took it upon himself to say, “I think soon the NFL will get involved, and it is my mission to be the one that gets that to happen as soon as possible!”
“I think it is awesome how much sports and esports are meshing together!” he told theScore esports. “I knew it would happen sooner than later, because every professional sports player plays video games of some sort and the competitive aspect always catches the eyes of the real sports players!
“During the next session out in Green Bay, I want to speak to our president about sponsoring a team in the near future.”
Earlier this year, the Dallas Cowboys became the first NFL team to publicly express interest in esports team ownership. Additionally, despite some San Francisco 49ers owners and executives recently participating in a Series A round for gaming platform Plays.tv, the organization as a whole is also skeptical about esports team ownership, according to a recent statement made by Chief Investment Officer Brano Perkovich at the South by Southwest Conference last month.
Throughout the early stages of 2017, the NFL has live streamed Madden tournaments on Twitch while on April 15, the Madden 17 Club Series Championship will feature eight players representing eight NFL teams. Still, generally speaking, the league’s involvement in esports has been minuscule to what is happening domestically, with MLS club New York City FC signing a FIFA player this past week and the NBA 2K eLeague kicking off in 2018.
As one of the first professional athletes to enter esports, the 28-year-old Lumpkin explained on The Next Level eSports Guest Podcast why he decided to jump in so early.
“It really wasn’t about an opportunity but the fact that I actually loved and believed in it,” he said. “Talking to (Hector Rosario, CEO and Dana Kawar, COO), I met them. I said, ‘You know what? I wouldn’t mind doing this one day. Why not? See how it goes, dip my toes in the waters.’ After chilling with them at multiple events…I said, ‘Fine, I’ll come in, I’ll help. Let’s do it. Let’s work together. Let’s see what we can make happen.’
“It was just something I felt comfortable with, and I believed in them. I liked the way they were going. I love the way they run the teams and handle the player, the respect they have for the players. That’s huge for me being a professional athlete and seeing how political and business-like the NFL and pretty sure the NBA, MLB, NHL, any professional sport is. I just liked the way they handled themselves in that space. I hit it off with them right away. I chilled with them every time I got a chance to see them…It felt perfect. It was like a match and harmony where we thought the same. We had the same mindset for each other and the same goals.”
The Clarksville, Tenn. native said it’s smart that professional sports teams are buying in now versus later, saying that, “Down the road, (esports) teams that are doing it by themselves are going to get more and more expensive to get in on, which I think is why you’re seeing a lot of teams, especially NBA teams, jumping in right away and buying any team.”
Added Lumpkin: “A lot of people are looking at it like, ‘Why are they buying that team?’ Because it’s the smart move. It’s the right move. I’m not going to lie, me personally, I’m working on my own network in football and being like, ‘Hey man, what’s up? We can do this together.’ I’m a former football player or a current football player. I would love to see more football teams get involved. I talked to some of my former teammates and some of them have caught the bug. They’re just waiting. I’m trying to talk to some GMs and owners to see if they’re headed in that direction.”
Right now, it’s a wait-and-see mode but given his early involvement and above comments, Lumpkin is a person to watch to see if he furthers his investment in esports.