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www.HartfordBusiness.com January 18, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 3 Continued UConn study claims stocks affected by NFL outcomes By Keith Griffin kgriffin@HartfordBusiness.com A s football fans in Connecticut and around the country gear up for next weekend's NFL conference championships, few fans will be thinking about their stock port- folios as they indulge in buffalo wings and a frosty beverage. But maybe they should. A new study by a UConn School of Busi- ness professor says stock returns of NFL sta- dium sponsors are affected by the outcomes of important games — including playoff matchups — played in sponsor's venues. The study covered almost 3,400 games over a 16-year period and found that forming an investment fund around stadium sponsor stocks and win-loss patterns within their ven- ues would have resulted in a 28-percent return over the course of a single NFL season. However, one local financial expert said it may not be sound financial planning to base investment decisions on the research. He describes it as a good source of information as part of a bigger decision-making process. A review of 3,399 games (including 1,710 home games) between 1997 and 2013 by Assaf Eisdorfer, a UConn finance professor, and then doctoral student Elizabeth Kohl, showed that following home-team wins in Monday Night Football and post-season games, as well as contests categorized as upset victo- ries, the stadium sponsor's stock increased in next-day trading 50 to 80 basis points higher than after home-team losses and that the stock increase held over the next few days. "Stadium sponsorship is even more extreme for a playoff game, which is worth a lot more money," said Eisdorfer in an interview. "If you just won a playoff game and the next week you host another playoff game, there will be more exposure for your stadium sponsor." His research found the sponsors' post-game stock return patterns provide profit opportuni- ties. Eisdorfer and Kohl, who did all the research using existing university databases, formed a weekly zero-investment portfolio buying stocks of all sponsoring companies whose teams won at home that week and selling the stocks of all sponsoring companies whose teams lost. Publicly traded companies sponsoring NFL teams' stadiums This table lists largest NFL stadium sponsorship deals with publicly traded companies from 1996-2013. Total Years Avg. Annual NFL Team Stadium Name Location Sponsoring Firm Sponsorship Spend Start Date Giants MetLife Stadium E. Rutherford, NJ MetLife Inc. $400,000,000 25 $16,000,000 Aug. 2011 Jets MetLife Stadium E. Rutherford, NJ MetLife Inc. $400,000,000 25 $16,000,000 Aug. 2011 Texans Reliant Stadium Houston, TX Reliant Energy $320,000,000 32 $10,000,000 Aug. 2002 Texans Reliant Stadium Houston, TX NRG Energy $320,000,000 32 $10,000,000 Aug. 2010 Redskins FedEx Field Landover, MD FedEx $205,000,000 27 $7,592,593 May 1999 Cardinals University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, AZ Apollo Group $154,000,000 26 $5,923,077 Aug. 2006 Panthers Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC Bank of America $140,000,000 20 $7,000,000 Jan. 2004 Eagles Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PA Lincoln National Corp. $139,000,000 21 $6,619,048 Aug. 2003 S O U R C E : U C O N N S C H O O L O F B U S I N E S S Bank of America sponsors the North Carolina home stadium of the Carolina Panthers (shown in blue uniforms), which earned home field advantage throughout this year's NFC playoffs. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D DIGITAL EDITIONS www.HartfordBusiness.com Check out the Giving Guide, 40 Under Forty, Health Care Heroes, Business Champions and more Hartford Business Journal Digital Editions online! Visit www.HartfordBusiness.com and click the 'Special Editions' tab.