Anheuser-Busch may have created a recording specifically for people who were calling the company to inquire about its sponsorship of the NFL, but that does not mean the company is considering pulling the plug on one of its most profitable partnerships.
Over the weekend, rumors began circulating that Anheuser-Busch was polling the opinion of fans about the recent national anthem protests across the NFL because it was evaluating its business relationship with the league. On Tuesday, the Budweiser parent company released a statement responding to the speculation.
“At Anheuser-Busch we have a long heritage of supporting the institutions and values that have made America so strong,” senior director of marketing and communications Matt Kohan said, via ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “That includes our armed forces and the national anthem as well as diversity, equality and freedom of speech. We proudly employ over 1,100 military veterans and we work every day to create an inclusive environment for all of our employees. Because only together can we achieve our dream of bringing people together for a better world.
“The Anheuser-Busch phone line has always been available for consumer inquiries on a variety of topics, but we are not conducting a survey regarding our NFL sponsorship.
“We have many long-term sports partnerships, including our NFL sponsorship, and while we may not agree on everything, we still believe in the power of sport to bring people together and overcome their differences. We have no plans to end our NFL sponsorship.”
Anheuser-Busch probably started getting so many calls about national anthem protests that its phone lines were getting congested, so someone made a decision to send all of those callers to a specific line to get them out of the way. You’d have to be pretty naive to think the company is listening to every voicemail from every fan who wants it to end its sponsorship with the NFL.
We’ve heard about all the concerns NFL owners have about anthem protests, but anyone who has been to a football game knows how much money Anheuser-Busch makes on game day. Like it or not, money talks.
