On Sunday 9 February, the Philadelphia Eagles will be taking on the reigning champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, in this year’s Super Bowl LIX, looking to exact revenge following their loss in 2023. As fans get their Super Bowl preparations in order, fintechs are also capitalising on the widely publicised event to promote their offerings through partnerships with the athletes. The most recent being the Eagles’ running back, Saquon Barkley partnering with paytech Ramp.
Sports-fintech partnerships are not a novelty. Big names like Cristiano Ronaldo and Patrick Mahomes have been seen across all sorts of media platforms endorsing Binance and State Farm respectively, with the latter’s commercials famously being played during NFL ad breaks. But how impactful is an athlete-fintech partnership for the company involved?
In Saquon Barkley’s case, the ad with Ramp was made within a week, before his appearance in the biggest American football game of the year. Speaking on this Diego Zaks, vice president of design at Ramp said: “One week is a crazy timeline to attempt a Super Bowl ad from start to finish. We’re lucky in that we have an amazing team of creatives, a culture where makers can make decisions fast, and we’re working with Saquon, the fastest running back out there – so we knew we had a chance to pull it off.”
Barkley is a student of business and technology, and has become increasingly interested in high-growth startups after reading Zero to One, a book focused on startups years ago. When strong Ramp recommendations came through mutual investor connections, he wanted more than just a traditional endorsement deal, leading to the creation of the firm’s first Super Bowl advert.
“True partnership requires skin in the game,” said Barkley. “That’s why I invested in Ramp. I saw firsthand how they’re powering American businesses to cut costs and achieve a higher level of performance. That’s the kind of impact I want to be part of.”
“Seeing Saquon put his team’s playoff run ahead of an individual all-time rushing record was a masterclass in leadership,” added Eric Glyman, CEO and co-founder of Ramp. “Ramp lives by the same playbook. We put our customers’ long-term success first, helping them spend less – even if that sometimes comes at the cost of our own short-term profit. It’s this long-term orientation that’s led us to grow faster than nearly anyone while delivering over $2billion in savings for our customers.
“Our shared commitment to long-term value creation made Saquon a natural partner. We’re both in it for the long game.”
Is this just money talking?
Companies have been endorsing athletes for decades and a lot of the time it is purely for money. Afterall, an athlete’s career can be shortlived, and that time in the spotlight can quickly vanish. However, as
Greg Linnelli, the radio network host for the Tampa Bay Lightning and account strategist at Otter Public Relations, the PR agency in Orlando, notes there are expectations to this.
“Usually for athletes, it’s about the highest pay-check. You only have so many relevant years where you can capitalise on your popularity that you need to take advantage of those opportunities. The exception though can be the top one per cent in sports. They’ve already been paid quite handsomely so they can be pickier and get behind something they believe in to a degree.
“After all, if that product falters, the athlete doesn’t lose a ton financially.”
Finding the right partner
For a fintech-sports partnership to truly thrive, money is not enough. Kaveh Vahdat, founder and president of RiseOpp, a fractional CMO services company explains that both the athlete and organisation must share values too.
“A good fintech-sport partnership isn’t about slapping a logo on a jersey or running a flashy Super Bowl ad. It’s about shared values and authentic alignment. The most effective partnerships are where the athlete could be a real customer of the brand. If the fintech’s value proposition doesn’t align with the athlete’s personal brand—whether it’s financial freedom, discipline, or innovation—the audience will smell the inauthenticity from a mile away.”
A bigger picture
But why are organisations so keen on partnering with players like Barkley? According to Doug Eldridge, who has represented and advised athletes across the NFL and NBA and is also the founder of Achilles PR, the integrated public relations firm, more than anything, athlete sponsorships broaden visibility.
He said: “Because of the diverse composition of any given fan base—athletes are able to attract ‘outliers’ who might not already be aware, interested, or otherwise involved in a particular market or sector. It all starts with awareness and athletes certainly bring that element to the table.
“At a minimum, athletes draw eyeballs, which are a prerequisite for interest, much less engagement and investment. The right ‘athlete ambassador’ also matters; it needs to be a good fit on every level.”
