Why Did The NFL Ban Beats By Dre Headphones?

Brands, brands, brands, it’s all about the brands. The NFL made a deal with the Bose corporation in the offseason, effectively eliminating Beats By Dre from the league. The deal means players can no longer wear the headphones during official NFL events, including but not limited to press conferences, pregame TV and on-field interviews.

Here’s more from Recode:

“The NFL has longstanding policies that prohibit branded exposure on-field or during interviews unless authorized by the league. These policies date back to the early 1990s and continue today,” an NFL spokesperson said in a statement. “They are the NFL’s policies – not one of the league’s sponsors, Bose in this case. Bose is not involved in the enforcement of our policies. This is true for others on-field.”

Naturally, Beats By Dre isn’t happy about the NFL’s decision. As Brobible notes, the company has spent quite a bit of money on Colin Kaepernick and Richard Sherman.

“Over the last few years athletes have written Beats into their DNA as part of the pre-game ritual,” a Beats spokesperson said. “Music can have a significant positive effect on an athlete’s focus and mental preparedness and has become as important to performance as any other piece of equipment.”

I’m not an audiophile and I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn last night, but I don’t get the Beats by Dre phenomenon. Seriously, tell me why my $50 pair of Skullcandy can’t do the same damn thing.

[Recode]

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