Microsoft goes back for more punishment as it renews Surface NFL deal

Microsoft’s sideline sponsorship of the NFL with their Surface tablets has been a hit and miss affair, with presenters and coaches often calling them iPads, except when they went wrong, in which case the full blame was placed on the Microsoft Surface brand.

The sponsorship started in 2013 and cost $400 million, and was due to expire in 2018.  SportsBusinessDaily, however, reports that Microsoft has quietly renewed the deal, with NFL owners being informed last week, though details are unfortunately locked behind a paywall.

While there have been plenty of hiccups in the sponsorship deal, the NFL recently expanded their use to include a new instant replay system.

Given that the Surface brand is becoming increasingly well recognized, and is actually associated with quality, similar to Apple’s Mac computers, maybe the sponsorship is paying off after all. Certainly, it appears Microsoft thinks so.