The Associated Press (AP) reported that the insurance company had finalised an agreement and a press conference to confirm the sponsorship of the venue known as New Meadowlands Stadium is expected to take place this week. The New York Post reported that the deal is worth in the region of $20 million per year for 20 years, which would make the contract one of the most lucrative stadium partnerships in world sport.
MetLife is currently signed up as one of four ‘cornerstone’ sponsors of the stadium, which opened last year after the most expensive sports venue construction project in history. MetLife pays around $7 million annually to be one of four leading sponsors with Verizon, Anheuser-Busch and PepsiCo being the other partners.
The Giants and Jets used private funds to build the stadium and the two teams jointly operate the venue through New Meadowlands Stadium Corporation. With just over 82,500 seats, the stadium is the largest in the NFL in terms of permanent seating and the venue will host the NFL Super Bowl in 2014.
According to AP, a deal with banking giant Allianz was close to being agreed in 2008 that would have been worth an estimated $30 million annually.
