Hyundai Replaces General Motors As Official Automotive Sponsor Of The NFL

(kenfagerdotcom)

Sure, sometimes breaking up might be hard to do, but it always helps when you’ve got another suitor lined up to take your former flame’s place. Such is the arrangement for the National Football League, which announced today that it’s ending its relationship with General Motors and hooking up with Hyundai.

Hyundai will take GM’s place as the NFL’s official automotive sponsor, reports the Chicago Tribune, in a deal that will let the Korean automaker use the league’s trademarks in marketing. It’ll also get access to the NFL’s biggest events like the Super Bowl and annual draft proceedings.

Though Hyundai isn’t saying how much it shelled out to get this special status, it’s likely that it would be in the neighborhood of what GM had paid, somewhere around $25 million per year.

“There is no better venue to reach consumers,” Hyundai Motor America CEO Dave Zuchowski said in a statement.

Hyundai will launch its sponsorship during the NFL’s season kickoff activities on Sept. 10.

Meanwhile, it sounds like GM isn’t locked in its room crying over a box of paraphernalia that reminds it of its ex.

“We value our relationship with the NFL and its fans, but have decided to focus our sponsorship resources in other areas in the future,” GM said in a statement.

Elsewhere in professional sports, the National Basketball Association also had a major sponsorship change this year, choosing to break up with Coca-Cola for its biggest rival, PepsiCo, in April.

Hyundai replaces General Motors as NFL auto sponsor [Chicago Tribune]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist