American football competition the Canadian Football League has agreed a deal for Shaw Communications to become the first presenting sponsor of its annual Grey Cup showpiece.
Shaw Communications also becomes the official telecommunications partner of the CFL under a wide-ranging multi-year contract.
The financial details of the agreement were not disclosed, although the CFL valued the naming rights to the Grey Cup as being worth C$10m (€7.4m/$8.2m) annually in 2007 when its board of governors first approved selling the sponsorship.
“Shaw, a great Canadian company, is the perfect match for the great Canadian tradition that is the Grey Cup,” CFL commissioner Jeffrey Orridge said. “We all know the annual celebration of our championship game belongs to every Canadian. This partnership with Shaw will allow us to present it bigger and better than ever.”
Brad Shaw, chief executive of Shaw Communications, added: “The CFL is Canada’s premier sporting event, reaching millions from coast-to-coast every week, and this partnership will provide Shaw with a historic national platform that allows us to connect with our customers and CFL fans in a meaningful way.”
Shaw’s sponsorship includes prominent branding across CFL broadcasts on pay-television platform TSN, the league’s broadcast partner in Canada, while it will serve as the title partner of the Player Awards and weekly player achievement programme.
The 2015 CFL regular season begins on June 25, with the 103rd Grey Cup taking place at Investors Group Field, Winnipeg, on November 29.