AUBURN, Alabama/BERWYN, Pennsylvania—Auburn Athletics and Playfly Sports, the sports industry’s leading revenue maximization company, today announced a 10-year multimedia rights agreement that will extend their successful partnership through the 2034-35 academic year. The agreement builds on years of growth and collaboration with an increased focus on innovation, enhanced campus integration, and customized revenue generation strategies designed to elevate Auburn Athletics for the next decade and beyond.
The new partnership is expected to more than double Auburn’s annual revenue derived from corporate partnerships, with average anticipated annual revenue in the new agreement set to exceed $23M – increasing to over $34M, an increase from the current $10M average. The total anticipated value of the partnership is expected to exceed $230M over the 10-year term.
“We are thrilled to expand our longstanding partnership with Playfly Sports through this new agreement,” Auburn Athletics Director John Cohen said. “Christy Hedgpeth and Craig Sloan have a clear vision for how Playfly can generate revenue and enhance Auburn’s position in the new era of college athletics. Thank you to Christy, Craig and their team for their support, partnership, and their commitment to supporting Auburn and our student-athletes.”
This new partnership model is designed to best support Auburn and Auburn student-athletes in the new world of college athletics by maximizing revenue potential for Auburn while also putting dedicated staff in place to aggressively seek out direct corporate partnerships for Auburn student-athletes, to in turn help them maximize their individual NIL and brand value.
Through this agreement, Playfly will expand its on-campus Sports Properties team to better serve both the university and its corporate sponsors. The bolstered team will focus on building meaningful connections between Auburn’s storied athletics programs and brand partners, all while delivering measurable value to fans, student-athletes, and the broader Auburn community.
Auburn will also leverage the power of Playfly Max, Playfly’s proprietary, fully-integrated revenue-generation platform for the new era of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). Playfly Max will deliver an Auburn-specific strategy that incorporates proprietary technologies, unique revenue concepts, revenue-generating events, alumni and donor engagement programming, recurring membership models, and the marketing of specialized merchandise and memorabilia. These efforts will not only drive incremental revenue but also create direct benefits for Auburn student-athletes—particularly in the evolving NIL era.
“This new 10-year agreement reflects our deep belief in Auburn—its leadership, its brand, and its future,” said Christy Hedgpeth, President of Playfly Sports Properties. “We're fully aligned with Auburn’s vision to propel athletics into a new era—one rooted in innovation and strategy. With the integration of Playfly Max and a larger on-campus team, we’re unlocking revenue potential and delivering even more value for Auburn's key stakeholders.”
Additionally, the extended partnership will provide an additional significant investment towards growing Auburn’s digital subscription platform, WarEagle+. This investment will advance the ever-popular platform by expanding membership benefits for subscribers to include access to exclusive events and experiences, while also improving the platform infrastructure, and expanding the digital content and services provided to subscribers.
“We are honored to extend our partnership with Auburn University Athletics and continue building on the incredible momentum we've created together,” Auburn Sports Properties General Manager Ben Harling said. “Auburn’s tradition, passionate fan base, and commitment to excellence align perfectly with our mission to connect brands, fans, and communities through innovative and impactful sponsorships. Together, we’ll continue to elevate the Auburn brand while delivering value to fans, corporate partners, and the entire Auburn Family."
Playfly Sports, which has operated the Auburn Sports Properties team since 2016, currently represents more than 65 collegiate athletic departments across the country. Auburn’s partnership with Playfly has seen tremendous growth across sponsorship, fan engagement, and integrated media, and this new term is expected to accelerate those trends further.
ABOUT AUBURN ATHLETICS
Auburn University, located in Auburn, Alabama, was founded in 1856 and is a member of the Southeastern Conference. Auburn has an enrollment of 34,145 and its athletics department supports 21 varsity sports and has more than 500 student-athletes. The Tigers have won 23 national championships and 105 conference titles during their storied history.
ABOUT PLAYFLY SPORTS
Playfly Sports, the sports industry’s leading revenue maximization company drives growth for its partners across the sports ecosystem – including 2,000+ brands, 100+ professional teams, 65+ college athletic departments, all U.S. local sports networks and associated streaming platforms, and other marquee properties. Its fan engagement platform allows its partners to reach and engage over 85% of all U.S sports fans. Playfly builds and implements custom strategies across media, sponsorship, premium experiences, ticketing and fan engagement offerings through proprietary data, innovative technology and compelling storytelling. Playfly operates an expansive portfolio of services with a data-driven and fan-focused approach to maximize revenue yield in key growth areas, such as media, sponsorship, ticketing, premium experiences and fan engagement offerings. Founded in September of 2020, Playfly Sports is now home to approximately 1,000 team members located across 43 U.S. states and internationally dedicated to maximizing the impact of highly passionate local sports fans. The company has been named a Best Place to Work in Sports by Sports Business Journal, Front Office Sports, and Newsweek. To learn more, follow Playfly Sports on social media platforms or visit www.Playfly.com.