The San Francisco 49ers clinched a rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs in this year's Super Bowl. The 49ers' last Super Bowl appearance in 2020 ended in a 31-20 defeat against the Chiefs. This marks the Chiefs' fifth Super Bowl appearance in the last six NFL seasons.
San Francisco 49ers President Al Guido sits down with Yahoo Finance's Brad Smith to discuss sports betting's ability to engage and enhance the fan experience, the 49ers' stadium partnerships, and demand for live sporting events.
"If you look at this Super Bowl, I think it's reported to be on record the most expensive ticket prices out there. If you look at what F1's done this past year with the [Las] Vegas race, but for me, I think sports and live entertainment is really capturing a lot of those dollars," Guido explains.
For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
Editor's note: This article was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.
Video Transcript
BRAD SMITH: We're less than two weeks away from Super Bowl 58. And for the second time in five seasons, the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs will face off in another epic Sunday game where one team will bring home the iconic Vince Lombardi Trophy. So who better to talk to than a top executive in the sports industry, 49ers team prepping for the big game-- I'm joined now by Al Guido, San Francisco 49ers President and Elevate's Chairman and CEO. Great to have you here in-studio with us.
AL GUIDO: Thank you so much for having me. Appreciate it.
BRAD SMITH: I mean, my goodness, once again, you've got this matchup-- and off of a year where, we were just looking at some of the numbers that have come in for the playoff viewership-- where we've seen some new highs set here. How do you kind of maintain that momentum from a viewership, a new fan perspective, and make sure that you're capitalizing on that from an organizational seat that you have?
AL GUIDO: Well, I think the NFL has done a fantastic job this year. I mean, you've reported out here on this network-- 96 out of the top 100 viewed television games where NFL football games. But we got two good storylines heading into this. We got two historic franchises-- obviously, the five-time Super Bowl champions. And we got Brock Purdy going up against Patrick Mahomes.
I'm sure we're going to talk about Taylor Swift, and Travis Kelce, and all the other stuff around it. But the NFL has literally never been in a better place as it relates to on-field talent, off-field viewership, all the pomp and circumstance around it. It's going to be a lot of fun in Vegas.
BRAD SMITH: Let's talk about that-- Super Bowl in Vegas. The sports betting scene has just been growing so much over the past few years here. What do you think is next from how organizations lean into this, how the NFL leans into this? And what does that mean for how you look at the fan experience too?
AL GUIDO: Well, sports betting, as you've reported, I mean, it's been here for a while. And there's no question that that has really garnered-- I would say it started with Yahoo Fantasy, right, and people playing fantasy sports. And that's what got casual fans involved in the NFL. Then, sports betting came online.
Brad, I would say the next frontier is the international growth. I mean, we see what's happening when we're playing games internationally. Now that flag football is a high school women's sport, it's going to be in the Olympics in LA 2028-- it's not just what happens in tackle football, but also what happens in flag. That is leading to tremendous growth not just here in North America, but abroad.
BRAD SMITH: Let's talk about some of the international kind of fandom that is certainly growing out, especially in the sports community right now. And you speak of that World Cup-- that's coming to you guys at Levi's Stadium. You just resigned and re-upped with Levi's. I mean, tell us about the significance of that partnership. And more particularly, when are we getting the first in-game denim jersey. When are you guys going to bring that to us?
AL GUIDO: I'll tell you what, I know Levi's would want it. And they're thrilled that they got an NFL apparel deal. And Levi's is a fantastic partner of ours. It is unprecedented, Brad, to be extending a deal that still had 10 years in it at record numbers.
I mean, we did an increase off the original 20-year, $220 million deal. Now, this is a 10-year extension for $170 million. Frankly, these venues have become 365-day assets, right? We've done 155 events in the first 10 years of opening Levi's Stadium. We've done $2 billion in economic impact-- by the way, 33 for our Taylor Swift concerts this past summer-- and 12,000 jobs have been created in those 10 years just in that region because of Levi's.
BRAD SMITH: Want to talk about the experience economy outlook, especially as you were mentioning the stadium and the role that that plays as a venue, but also the value that it brings to the local community too. When we think about this consumer environment right now, is this consumer environment showing cracks in services spending? And what's the next big kind of demand generation driver that you anticipate needing to execute, needing to pull that lever in order to retain those consumers?
AL GUIDO: We're not seeing-- on the Elevate side, we represent about 200 properties within sports across the globe. And there's no question certain areas are seeing some softness. But as it relates to, call it, the marquee brands, the marquee assets, we're not really seeing any softness. I mean, if you look at this Super Bowl, I think it's reported to be on record, the most expensive ticket prices out there.
If you look at what F1 has done this past year with the Vegas race-- but for me, I think sports and live entertainment is really capturing a lot of those dollars. So it's probably escaping the ecosystem elsewhere, but not in the sports world right now. At least we're not seeing it.
BRAD SMITH: We'll make this a circular conversation and end where we started at, and that is the matchup that is coming forth. This is different than the 2020 matchup that we saw where now, you've got, as you mentioned, Brock Purdy, you've also got Christian McCaffrey-- storylines run abound there. But Kansas City, they look different too.
They still have Patrick Mahomes. But they've also got Taylor Swift. And that's an effect that we've seen absolutely be a rising tide for the league. How have you been able to quantify that type of effect that Taylor has brought to the NFL for this year and, perhaps, retaining some of that new fan base?
AL GUIDO: I know it's hard to quantify, but over the course of the last 48 hours, there have been reports that come out that the Kansas City Chiefs have had earned media over $300 million because of her lift. I'll tell you, I lean into it. I think it's great for the sport.
I have three daughters. They're huge Taylor Swift fans. We got to, as I mentioned, have her in the building. And you talked a little bit about-- or at least we talked as I was coming in about Kristin Juszczyk and make her making jackets with Kyle Juszczyk playing on our team.
BRAD SMITH: Just got a licensing deal with the NFL.
AL GUIDO: I think it's great. I mean, there's no question these two teams are going to battle it out on the field. Someone's going to take the Lombardi Trophy home. I hope it's us, of course. I'm biased. But everything else we should all lean into.
This is fun, right? This is an escape from our daily lives. It's what sports is all about-- the camaraderie, the passion, the storylines, everything going into it. So you know what? As an NFL team and as the president of the San Francisco 49ers, let's lean in to all this joy that's happening.
BRAD SMITH: When you think about the storied organization, the name that is the 49ers, there have been, of course, other teams out there that have looked at how they create an equity structure for season ticket holders. The Green Bay Packers, notably, have done that. Manchester United is publicly traded. Is that something that the 49ers, you ever see the organization thinking about-- how do we engage with fans on a vote with your dollars, but also kind of annex your fandom financially as well here even more so?
AL GUIDO: It's interesting. I mean, I'm not sure we see it at the San Francisco 49ers just given where we're at. But I do think that we're headed towards a path-- we know in the NBA and other leagues here in North America, they've allowed private equity into those investments. We've seen asset value increases from, call it, $1 billion, to $8 billion, $9 billion-- obviously, the Commanders traded for over $6 billion.
We'll see in the NFL-- there's discussions around whether or not private equity gets let into the NFL. It's the last league in North America that does not allow it. I think there was a report yesterday, at least a rumor on the Baltimore Orioles, Brad. But there's no question that if you look at what's happening in the media markets around sports and what the spending looks like, if you're looking at what's happening at the gameday, and hospitality, and merchandise-- they're all at, really, a record highs.
And truthfully, at least in the NFL, I don't see those things declining. And so the makeup of these ownership groups, I think, will continue to change. We saw what Mark Cuban just did in Dallas. And so there's just a lot of transactions happening within the sports ecosystem.
BRAD SMITH: Al, always a pleasure to get some of your time, your insights, and, of course, big game coming up no doubt. You're going to have all eyes, ears to the ground. I mean, look, we might see you running out there on field. We will see. Al Guido, San Francisco 49ers President and Elevate Chairman and CEO joining us here on Yahoo Finance.
