NFL’s Bose Deal Leads to Beats by Dre Ban

Beats by Dre headphones are no longer welcome at NFL games — and that includes in the locker rooms or on the sidelines as long as cameras are rolling.

According to Recode and later reported by Rolling Stone, the NFL has reached a sponsorship agreement with Bose. The terms of the agreement stipulate that players and coaches cannot wear other headphone brands during televised interviews. The ban includes television interviews taking place during preseason training or practices, as well as on game day from opening kickoff right through the final whistle and extending through the postgame interviews — up to 90 minutes after the game has ended.

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 “The NFL has longstanding policies that prohibit branded exposure on-field or during interviews unless authorized by the league. These policies date back to the early 1990s and continue today,” an NFL spokesperson said in a statement. “They are the NFL’s policies — not one of the league’s sponsors, Bose in this case. Bose is not involved in the enforcement of our policies. This is true for others on-field.”

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 “Over the last few years, athletes have written Beats into their DNA as part of the pregame ritual,” a Beats spokesperson said. “Music can have a significant positive effect on an athlete’s focus and mental preparedness and has become as important to performance as any other piece of equipment.”

In other football-related news, Katy Perry appeared on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday. Her very cheeky and memorable appearance included her appearing as a guest picker, sporting a hot pink football jersey sweater and making picks based “on looks,” naturally.

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