Inside the NFL’s New Partnership With ‘Fortnite’

With “Fortnite” now boasting well over 50 million players worldwide, the game has become a mainstream hit. Americans have had a similar relationship with the National Football League for decades now.

Last week, the two brands announced a partnership that would allow “Fortnite” players to add the uniform of their favorite NFL team to their avatar after purchasing it from the store.

The partnership should come as no surprise, really. Since the launch of Battle Royale mode, NFL players have expressed their love for the game. Some have even taken to playing competitively in their free time or being an active part of the game’s online community.

Rachel Hoagland, vice president and head of gaming and esports at the NFL, stated that this played a factor in bringing this partnership to fruition.

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“’Fortnite’ has captured the attention of so many different groups of people. It’s moved well beyond just being a game,” she said. “I think it’s fair to say its popularity among NFL players was a factor in us moving forward with this partnership. There were many others, including its wide reach and global audience, as well as the opportunity for the NFL to be the first branded sports integration in the game.”

Prior to the launch of these skins, NFL teams were putting together activations with Twitch and YouTube content creators. Notably, the Detroit Lions invited Ninja (arguably the most popular name in the space) to a game back in September.

Ninja returned the favor by wearing a Lions uniform on his avatar in his streams when the uniform skins launched. The streamer also bridges the gap between gamers, the NFL, and the two fan bases by appearing on television shows like “NFL Live” every now and then.

“The outfit integration gave us an opportunity to do even more by bringing the popular influencers in early, and amass hours of gameplay previewing the outfits,” Hoagland said.

To build on it, content creator NICKMERCS also played alongside Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans in the NFL’s Ultimate Squad contest stream.

Hoagland can attest that the working relationship between the NFL and Epic Games, the “Fortnite” developer, has been a positive experience. For that reason, look for more from this partnership in the future.

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“The Epic team is very creative, collaborative, and more than willing to work with and incorporate our thoughts and ideas,” Hoagland stated. “We are a good complement to each other.”

The skins are not currently available for purchase in the “Fortnite” digital store, as the content available to players regularly rotates. The outfits will reportedly return in the near future.

Who knows, we may even see some additional NFL tie-in content somewhere down the line.