Marty Gordon
Virginia Tech and Playfly Sports have announced a 10-year multimedia contract, which will go into effect next summer.
The school was in the final year of a similar contract with Learfield.
Playfly Sports today announced it is entering into an enterprise marketing and multimedia rights relationship with Virginia Tech Athletics.
Group officials are excited about the new agreement.
“Virginia Tech is a dynamic university with an incredibly strong athletics brand – we are excited to work with Whit Babcock and team to supercharge Hokie pride,” said Christy Hedgpeth, President of Playfly Sports Properties. “Our broad offering of data driven solutions will enable Virginia Tech to tap into diverse streams of revenue and enhance engagement with students, fans and donors.”
Playfly Sports Properties holds the multimedia rights of Virginia, LSU, Southern Cal and Baylor.
The agreement will cover new revenue opportunities, content creation, premium game-day programming and new events and activations.
According to the sports group, they won the contract after a competitive bid process.
Last year, the Nebraska Athletic Department said its agreement Playfly was worth a reportedly $300 million.
According to information from that agreement, the payouts would start at $13 million in 2023-24 and increase to $23.2 million in the final year of the agreement.
Nebraska would also receive $7.5 million in signing bonuses, $6.5 million in estimated royalties, $6 million in capital investments, and $2.25 million in NIL funding.
A similar plan at the University of Central Florida is said to be valued at $125 million in guaranteed rights revenue with Playfly, who also signed another agreement last year with Old Dominion University. None of the ODU monetary amount has not been made available. Tech has also avoided the financial side of the agreement as of yet.
Virginia Tech’s partnership with Playfly Sports Properties will combine the company’s multimedia rights expertise with its elite line-up of media and marketing solutions. According to a release from the two parties, Playfly said it aims to unlock new revenue opportunities for Virginia Tech Athletics and strengthen fan enthusiasm by introducing a host of new media and technology offerings.
As part of the new agreement, Playfly will build a highly capable team dedicated to fostering and developing strategic partnerships for the Virginia Tech Athletic Department.
“We are ready to bring Playfly’s expertise to Blacksburg,” said Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock. “Playfly’s understanding of the Hokie Athletics ecosystem along with its expertise and passion in the MMR space will bring new energy and innovation.”
Officially, the new arrangement goes into effect July 1, 2024.
While the Virginia Tech Sports Properties is operated as an independent group, it directly reported to Learfield IMG, which it will still work with Learfield’s business lines, including Paciolan, Sidearm Sports, Amplify Tickets and Seatback Sales, and CLC.
Playfly will take over the Tech radio network next summer. So far, Tech officials have not commented on what that restructuring could include.
Currently, the network includes 30 radio stations around the Commonwealth and employs Bill Roth and Mike Burnop as its football commentary team.
Learfield IMG continues to partner with over 200 colleges including Radford University. For now, there are no plans to change that agreement just across the New River. The company also maintains the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, an athletics-focused preparatory school.
