Financial services company Northwestern Mutual is to become the presenting sponsor of the Rose Bowl post-season American football match.
The six-year deal will begin in 2015 and runs through 2020.
The deal forms part of a wider agreement with sports broadcaster ESPN, rights holder for the College Football Playoff, a new system in college American football that determines the national champion of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 Football Bowl Subdivision.
Northwestern Mutual will also be the sponsor when the Bowl hosts the College Football Playoff Semifinal in the inaugural year of 2015, as well as in 2018.
Company banding will be prominently featured on in-stadium signage including the mid-field logo, as well as tickets and uniform patches. The deal also includes commercial inventory throughout the Rose Bowl telecast, as well as each of the other ‘New Year’s Six’ Bowls and College Football National Championship.
The larger deal with ESPN includes on-air presenting sponsorship of 20 men’s and women’s NCAA Championships across sports such as football, volleyball, hockey, swimming, wrestling and lacrosse. This includes exclusivity in the life insurance, retirement planning, wealth management, financial planning and mutual fund categories.
John Schlifske, chairman and chief executive of Northwestern Mutual, said: “This sponsorship is a natural fit for our company, because many of our clients and prospects follow college sports and many of Northwestern Mutual's top financial representatives are former NCAA student-athletes.”