The NFL encourages fans to sit back, pop a percocet and watch some football with a nice refreshing glass of Pepsi.
A record-breaking deal between Vicodin and the NFL has been reached this week that will make the pharmaceutical brand the sole provider of hydrocodone of the league for the next five years.
The deal, which is the largest of its kind, will make Vicodin the official partner of the NFL through at least the 2022 season.
The 1.1 billion dollar agreement additionally blocks Norco, Lortab, and Lorcet from endorsement by the NFL and stipulates that players must be seen ingesting vicodin at least once per quarter. Fines have been stipulated in athletes contracts to prevent them from using painkillers other than Vicodin to remedy their ailments.
Industry sources say the deal came as no surprise. “The league needed to partner with an opioid brand as big as this,” said ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter. “Vicodin is as American as football itself and can be found in medicine cabinets across the country. It was a clear decision.”
“The league is happy to partner with Vicodin, the best selling painkiller in America,” said NFL chief marketing officer Dawn Hudson. “And we’re excited to see what this new partnership will bring.”
At present the league has entered talks to develop a similar agreement with Oxycontin to become official practice painkiller provider.
