State Farm has successfully become the first NBA partner to sign a deal separately to sponsor the new NBA 2k League. The insurance provider is the first non-endemic brand to sponsor the basketball Esports competition, with the league having previously signed deals with gaming hardware suppliers.

The value and longevity of the contract with NBA 2k League was not confirmed but reportedly is a multi-year and mid-to-high six figure US Dollars contract. The deal confirms State Farm to get a virtual courtside signage for the next two regular season tournaments and the NBA 2k League finals which will be held in August. Furthermore, they will also get right to presenting segments pre-game for Twitch broadcasts.

The insurance company will have presenting rights to pregame segments on the Twitch broadcasts of league games called “Game Mode”, which will feature players sharing strategies and insights from their previous games. State Farm assets will also be featured in the virtual court during the two mid-season tournaments and the 2K League Finals in August.

State Farm advertising director, Ed Gold said that this is a clear opportunity to complement their tradition sport opportunities, because fans are not always related to ‘stick and ball’ sports. He also claimed that the demographic of this sport consist of significantly younger individuals than most traditional sports. This will certainly be appealing for their brand as they want to reach a younger audience.

This move also pushes investments forward for State farm in Esports. January was the month when this company became the first ever sponsor of Riot Games’ reconstituted North American League in the Legends Championship Series. Also in March signed on for the fifth season of the Rocket League Championship Series which is run by Psyonix.

Gold further acknowledged that the 2k League is a ‘learning experience’. He said that he thought that they will learn whether players of console games can become fans of the Esports leagues, and it will be a learning experience for gamers, teams, leagues and partners.

Highlights of first two weeks of the contract consist of the 2k league viewership peaking at 13.703 hits on the opening night. This then gradually dropped into high four figures b the finals of the tournament and the first week of regular play. In comparison to the viewership during the Overwatch League, the ranged peaked from 126,000 to 203,000 in the same time periods. Even though, the league management said they were happy with the viewership they received, and said it was pretty close to their expectations.

As a reward however, State Farm has joined Dell Alienware, Intel, HyperX and Scuf gaming in the NBA 2k League’s sponsor portfolio mix. The CEO credited with bringing the idea forward to buy advertising space in basket ball hoop stanchions in the 2000’s, Dave Bialek, was an adviser for the deal.