TikTok and the National Football League have renewed their partnership, this time with more scope. The two companies announced a multi-year agreement on September 2, 2026. The expanded partnership is designed to increase the league’s reach on the app and provide fans with more ways to engage with the sport all year round, and not only on Sundays when games are played.
This is not the first time TikTok and the NFL have partnered up. The social media platform has featured official NFL content for several seasons now. This renewal builds on past collaborations, but takes the partnership further, including richer fan experiences across more platforms, increased advertiser offerings and a stronger commitment to creating content that goes beyond the Sundays when games are played.
What The Renewed Partnership Actually Includes
The renewed deal covers several different components, each addressing different aspects of the fan experience.
TikTok GamePlan, a sports partnership tool, will power new NFL hubs in the application, with the product enabling leagues and teams to establish a presence on TikTok. The product will aid the league in making content more discoverable and offering teams and broadcasters another avenue to drive views.
Moreover, a new TikTok ad product, Pulse Premiere, will expand its inventory, with the ad placements now covering the league’s account and those of the member clubs. As a result, advertisers will be able to access a larger pool of inventory, as ads will run next to the league’s content and those of the clubs.
TikTok Pro Events, a product that hosts premium events, will also see the launch of a dedicated NFL fan hub in the coming weeks. The fan space will enable users to find trending content, participate in challenges and earn rewards. The company positions the feature as a way to attract new audiences to the ‘shared, participatory fandom experience.’
Beyond the in-app features, TikTok will also host more highlights, archival content, and storytelling, which will air across the year. Furthermore, the content will not only be found on the main NFL account but across the league’s international accounts, which include Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the UK, Germany, France, Australia, and New Zealand.
Why TikTok Wants This Deal
The figures on this renewal can help explain what TikTok is up to. The use of the #NFL hashtag grew by more than 32% year-over-year, according to internal TikTok figures. So this is an important area for a company that considers sports to be among its fastest-growing content categories.
There is also a growing shift in consumption habits, in which TikTok has been able to benefit greatly for months. TikTok reports that 59% of TikTok users say that watching sports content on the app is more entertaining than actually watching the sporting events. This figure indicates where the attention is directed and why TikTok dedicates resources to it and not only to a niche
Rollo Goldstaub, TikTok’s Global Head of Sport, highlighted that the NFL represented “more than just a seasonal sporting asset” for the platform, a space where fans connected throughout the year with highlights, trends, and personalities. He also noted that GamePlan was a key tool to drive discovery and view throughout the season.
Brent Lawton, the NFL’s vice president of media strategy and business development, also noted that TikTok had proven to be an important medium for engaging fans in multiple ways, from immersion in sporting events to interaction with the broader culture.
What This Means For Advertisers And Brands
For brands looking to engage football fans, the enhanced access to the Pulse Premiere seems like the most attractive element of this announcement. The ability to place advertisements alongside individual teams’ content, as opposed to just the league, would give advertisers more options on where to place their products. A brand that has a heavy following in a particular market or demographic would benefit immensely from the opportunity to connect with an audience.
The creation of the GamePlan hubs represent another appealing attribute for advertisers. By funneling interested fans into these sites, an engaged audience can be more easily accessed by marketers and media planners alike. Advertisements and sponsorships around football season can be far more focused on a particular team rather than a general league.
Such a feature would also indicate where TikTok would like to grow its advertising business. Sports content tends to lend itself to higher engagement, so dedicating hubs and even events to a property as large as the NFL would give brands an alternative to traditional broadcast media.
A Bigger Pattern In Sports And Social Media
TikTok is not the only social media company vying for the attention of NFL fans this year. Social Media Today reported on X’s updated NFL Gametime display and on YouTube’s insights into how fans engage with football content. This suggests that every major media company views pro football as a proving ground for innovations related to sports.
This competition will probably encourage companies to go above and beyond to capture the hearts and minds of sports fans.
For sporting leagues, the lesson to take from this may not be limited to TikTok and the NFL. The attention of fans has clearly shifted from traditional broadcast to short-form videos, interactive hubs, and other content that lives well beyond the game itself. Sports leagues that would like to grow their international audiences may need to think about platform partnerships like the NFL is in this year, as an enduring relationship rather than a seasonal expenditure.
What Happens Next
The dedicated NFL fan hub through TikTok Pro Events is set to launch in the coming weeks, so fans should start to see new features introduced before the season is too far along. In addition, TikTok said the amount of highlights, archival content and storytelling would simply continue to increase across all NFL-related accounts throughout the season.
For now, the easiest way to follow the rollout is to simply search ‘”NFL” on TikTok, which the company said would lead to a dedicated “hub” featuring live scores, schedules, links to where games can be seen and the growing library of official content.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q 1: What did TikTok and the NFL just announce?
TikTok and the National Football League (NFL) have inked a new multi-year partnership to expand the league’s reach on TikTok, with new fan hubs, expanded advertising options and more year-round content from the league.
Q 2: Is this the first partnership between TikTok and the NFL?
The two companies have partnered for several seasons already – this announcement is simply a renewal of the existing deal, expanding upon the achievements of the prior agreement.
Q 3: What is TikTok GamePlan?
GamePlan is the TikTok Sports partnership programme, which enables leagues and teams to engage and scale on the social media platform. The NFL will leverage this content creation tool to drive game day hubs to increase discoverability.
Q 4: What is Pulse Premiere?
Pulse Premiere is TikTok’s premium ad placement tool. Under the new deal, it will extend beyond the main NFL account to individual member clubs, expanding the inventory for brands.
Q 5: What is TikTok Pro Events, and how does it relate to the NFL?
TikTok Pro Events is an in-app fan experience. A dedicated NFL hub will arrive shortly, offering discoverability and rewards for completing tasks relating to the sport.
Q 6: How much has NFL content grown on Tik Tok?
TikTok users have engaged with 32 plus per cent more videos on TikTok with the #NFL hashtag in the last year, per internal data from mid-2025 to mid-2026.
Q 7: Do TikTok users actually prefer watching sports highlights over live sports?
TikTok users have found watching sports content on TikTok more entertaining than watching the game live, with 59 per cent of users polled agreeing, with the platform having previously shared that younger fans are looking to consume sports in a new way.
Q 8: Will this content only be on the main NFL TikTok account?
No, TikTok has also announced highlights and storytelling content will appear on the league’s international accounts too, including Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the UK, Germany, France and Australia and New Zealand.
Q 9: What does this mean for brands and advertisers?
With the arrival of Pulse Premiere, advertisers can utilise more specific targeting with TikTok’s inventory, utilizing the space alongside individual team content as well as the main account, allowing for more specific regional targeting.
Q 10: When will the new NFL fan hub launch on TikTok?
TikTok has announced the fan hub via TikTok Pro Events is set to arrive in the coming weeks, with users already able to search “NFL” on the app to view the content.
