• Loading stock data...
Friday, July 11, 2025

The Chiefs: Big in Germany. (But Does It Matter?)

  • Chiefs president Mark Donovan lays out Kansas City’s international ambitions: in the red now, break-even in the next 18 months.
  • Donovan: ‘We now have the world’s demographic, the world’s population, if we can just get the content in front of them.’
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The two teams in the Super Bowl typically lose money, in part because of the costs of travel, bloated by giant entourages, often including all of a club’s employees. Money is made in future years by higher ticket and sponsorship prices driven by the success and exposure.

But that doesn’t mean clubs aren’t using Super Bowl week for business. The Chiefs, who have an ambitious international strategy, are hosting executives of three of their German partners in Las Vegas this week, according to Mark Donovan, Kansas City’s president, as the Midwestern club continues to be one of the most ambitious NFL franchises in mining overseas opportunities. (The three: Crave, a German pet food company; apparel maker Englebert Strauss; and an agency, Brands and Emotions.)

“We are always activating,” Donovan told a group of media earlier this week. “We are one of the most aggressive teams in growing internationally, because we see the value for a small market team to say, ‘There are no boundaries.’ We now have the world’s demographic, the world’s population, if we can just get the content in front of them.”

The Chiefs are putting millions of dollars toward their push into Germany, where the NFL allows the team to market under a program that assigns geographic commercial opportunities to clubs. But for the Chiefs, it is a long-term vision.

“I don’t think international is all upside,” Donovan said. “I think there’s a lot of investment; we’ve had to put a lot of money against it. … It is exponential upside.”

Asked whether the Chiefs were in the red or black overseas, Donovan said the team was right now losing money. “I project that we will be at break-even in the next 18 months. And that will be dramatically impacted by whether or not we play another game internationally. (The Chiefs played the Dolphins in Frankfurt this season.) Because what we saw from Germany is we were able to grow the business a bit just by putting forth effort and creating relationships. The game was pretty exponential for us in terms of growth through a partnership standpoint.”

The Panthers have been announced as the home team for a game in Munich next season, and Donovan has already made known that the Chiefs want to be the away team. But he is doubtful that will happen, as the Chiefs are a big road draw, and the Panthers won’t want to give that up.

“We’re in the top one or two of every social media [metric] you could have in terms of NFL-related entities in Germany,” Donovan said. “And that’s been a three-year effort to get there. We’ve had a lot of success on that front.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Stephen Curry celebrates after sinking the winning putt during the final round of the American Century Celebrity Championship golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Stateline, Nev., Sunday, July 16, 2023.

Golf’s Hottest Celebrity Tournament Keeps Getting More Exclusive

The American Century Championship tees off at Lake Tahoe on Friday.
Jul 10, 2025; Wimbledon, United Kingdom; Iga Swiatek of Poland at her on court interview after winning her match against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland on day 11 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Wimbledon Set to Deliver Strong Finals Matchup for ESPN

Novak Djokovic is still in the hunt for his 25th Grand Slam.
Oct 27, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; A general view of the Wells Fargo Center before game between Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens.

New Philly Arena Will Redefine Home-Court Advantage, CEO Says

The forthcoming venue will arrive with plenty of ambition among its owners.

Jalen Williams Signs Max Deal As Thunder Commit $822M to 3 Stars

Oklahoma City also extended Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren.

Featured Today

Jun 28, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) bats during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field.

The Torpedo Bat Business Is Still Going Strong: ‘Here to Stay’

Demand for the oddly shaped bats has stayed strong across the sport.
July 6, 2025

American Celebs Want to Be Sports Owners. Soccer Is Where They Start

As U.S. team prices climb, investors set their sights abroad.
July 5, 2025

Baseball’s Celebrity Row: Behind MLB’s First-Pitch Ritual

Often planned, sometimes spontaneous, the ritual throw is baseball’s celebrity row.
July 4, 2025

3,000 Hot Dogs, $20K in Prizes: Behind the Nathan’s Eating Contest

Nathan’s serves up thousands of hot dogs and $20,000 in prize money.
Alex Sarr

Wizards Pushing Limits of Youth With 11 Players on Rookie Deals

Washington’s 2025 first-round pick is top-eight protected.
Chelsea
July 8, 2025

Chelsea Club World Cup Run Banks at Least $100M for Mark Walter..

The Blues will likely take home between $100 million and $120 million.
July 9, 2025

From Dynasty to Disarray: Red Bull Fires Christian Horner

He served as Red Bull team principal for more than two decades.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
July 8, 2025

Texas Sports Teams, Leagues Donate Over $5M to Flood Relief

NFL, MLB, and NBA teams in Texas donate to flood recovery efforts.
Chelsea
July 8, 2025

Club World Cup Semis Are Battle to Make Richest Soccer Final Ever

Semifinalists have each earned at least $60 million from the tournament so far.
July 7, 2025

Nationals Hit Reset Button, Oust Rizzo and Martinez Before Draft

The MLB club made major leadership changes just days before the draft.
July 6, 2025

Liverpool to Pay Diogo Jota’s $20M Contract to His Widow

Jota had two years remaining on his contract.