Heinz Says New Steelers Stadium Deal Was ‘Significantly More Than We Could Justify’

(Bloomberg) — After 21 years and more than $57 million, the Pittsburgh Steelers will no longer be playing in Heinz Stadium. 

Acrisure, a privately-held insurance company, signed a 15-year deal for the naming rights of the NFL team’s stadium in Pennsylvania. The firm declined to give financial terms, but a spokesman for Kraft Heinz Company said it was too rich for the ketchup-maker. 

“For 2022, while we worked diligently with the Steelers for several months around a new naming rights deal, they found a new partner willing to pay significantly more than we could justify,” Alex Abraham, a Kraft Heinz representative, said in an email.

It’s the latest in a series of stadium renaming deals. Last year, Crypto.com took over the naming rights for the Los Angeles Lakers’ stadium in a deal reported to be worth more than $700 million over the span of 20 years, while cryptocurrency exchange FTX inked a 10-year, $17.5 million deal to rebrand the Cal Golden Bears football field. In 2019, Oracle bought the naming rights to the  San Francisco Giants’ stadium for more than $200 million in a 20-year deal. 

Kraft Heinz has deep roots in Pittsburgh — H.J. Heinz was born and launched his brand there, and it remains the co-headquarters of the modern company. Acrisure has no such connection. While co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Greg Williams is a “lifelong Steelers fan,” according to the press release, the insurance company is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For Acrisure, renaming the stadium is an opportunity to raise the company’s national profile.  

 “Through Acrisure Stadium, we will increase awareness of the extraordinary advantage Acrisure brings our clients while conveying our strong sense of community,” Williams said in the release. 

 

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