The delicate art sports sponsorships: AFL star Matthew Pavlich on the balancing act

June 23, 2017 6:16

In the world of sports sponsorship and marketing, it’s easy to overlook the delicate balancing of the interests of rightsholders, leagues, clubs and individual players, said former AFL star Matthew Pavlich as he described some of intricacies of a modern sporting deal at Mumbrella’s Sports Marketing Summit.

Pavlich (right) on stage with Mumbrella’s Alex Hayes

Pavlich, one of most hightly decorated West Australian players in the Australian Football League and current president of the AFL Players’ Association, said the protection of sponsors is one of the tricky points for all competitions as the league has major sponsors, the clubs have others and individual players have their own separate arrangements.Working around those sponsorship restrictions can prove difficult for marketers, he said.

“I’d recommend being very clear in your objectives” recommended Pavlich.

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Paul Wallbank

Paul Wallbank was news editor at Mumbrella between June 2017 and June 2019. Previously he's covered business and technology issues for outlets ranging from The Australian and Sydney Morning Herald to the ABC and Business Spectator.

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