The NFL has strict guidelines for their licensees.
The NFL is big business, with billions of dollars generated in ticket sales, TV rights and licensed merchandise every year. As a business owner, you may be interested in selling NFL merchandise as a licensed seller. In order to do so, you need to register with NFL Properties LLC and meet its criteria.
Instructions
1. Spend at least three years as a manufacturer of the product you wish to sell. NFL Properties requires that much experience before it will accept your application, and it stresses that you need to be a manufacturer, not just a distributor.
2. Check the NFL Properties website to ensure that your products are not currently licensed to other companies. NFL Properties maintains a list on its prequalification form describing the products it is not currently licensing (usually things like video games, clothing, stadium gear such as fold-up chairs and helmets).
3. Draw up a business plan indicating that you can meet the minimum royalty payments once you receive your license and can sustain a certain level of sales. The NFL licensing agreement demands a 100% royalty guarantee (usually $100,000 per year); this means that you must be able to assure NFL Properties that you can pay that amount every year you hold the license.
4. Take out a sterling insurance policy. NFL Properties requires a Comprehensive Commercial General Liability policy from a top-rated (A-VIII or higher) A.M. Best-rated insurance company. The policy must be for at least $3 million per incident, and at least $6 million in aggregate.
5. Gather the information required by the NFL Properties application process. It includes two years of company tax reports, an annual report, a credit reference from a certified bank or similarly reputable financial institution and a product catalog or sell sheet from your company.
6. Agree to NFL Properties' terms and conditions, then fill out a pre-qualification form. Print clearly and legibly, or type it if you can.
7. Email copies of all the required information to newproducts@nfl.com. All submissions to NFL Properties need to come via email.
8. Wait. If NFL Properties accepts your application, you will be notified within 90 days and given final instructions on setting up your licensed product. If you are not approved, you will not be notified.
