Report: Pitbull to purchase naming rights to Florida International's football stadium

Florida International got creative in finding a naming rights sponsor for its football stadium.

According to ESPN, the musician Pitbull will sponsor the school's stadium for the next five seasons. The deal is worth just over $1 million per season and is set to be official on Tuesday. From ESPN:

As part of the deal, according to the documents, Pitbull will create an anthem for FIU, post about the school on social media 12 times a year and appear at one athletics fundraising event per year throughout the term of the agreement.

Pitbull will get use of the stadium 10 days per year throughout the term of the deal and the vodka company he owns will be the preferred brand distributed in the stadium. There's also perks like two reserved suites for all home football games.

Florida International is located in Miami and is in the 305 area code. It’s a perfect fit for the artist that calls himself Mr. 305. Pitbull, 43, is a Miami native and went to Miami’s Coral Park High School.

This isn’t Pitbull’s first foray into American sports either. He’s a minority owner in the NASCAR team Trackhouse Racing. He joined the team in January of 2021 ahead of Trackhouse’s first season at NASCAR’s top level.

Adding Pitbull’s name to the stadium is a smart move for an FIU program that needs all the attention it can get. FIU has been playing football at the FBS level since 2004 and has made just five bowl games over 21 seasons. The team hasn’t posted a winning record since 2018 and has gone 4-8 in each of the past two seasons under former Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre. Pitbull’s name on the stadium may not lead to any more home wins, but name recognition in the NIL era of college sports is not a bad thing in the slightest.