Hard Rock Digital Secures Licensing Rights from MLB Players, Inc

Hard Rock Digital has secured a groundbreaking partnership for licensing rights of MLB players. 

The alliance, signed with MLB Players Inc. and OneTeam Partners, will extend over multiple years and allow the company to leverage the image and likeness, as well as the players’ names, into its advertising initiatives around sports betting, designed to boost engagement and awareness for the players themselves and the brand. 

Hard Rock Digital Snags Licensing Rights to Leverage MLB Image and Likeness

The partnership also extends to the entirety of the North American market, allowing Hard Rock Digital to rapidly deploy the assets across both its digital and retail channels. The company will be able to use the faces and imagery of players such as Tarik Skubal, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Shohei Ohtani, among others.

The company will be able to deliver these assets in any way it sees fit, meant to drive sports fan engagement through gambling activations. Commenting on the opportunity to team up with the prominent brand, MLB Players, Inc. president Evan Kaplan had this to say:

“Fans connect to athletes. As sports betting continues to evolve, the experience is shifting from a screen full of odds to something more recognizable, more intuitive, and closer to the game itself. This partnership with Hard Rock Digital ensures that connection is authentic, licensed, and reflective of the value MLB players bring to the game.”

The partnership is an important milestone for MLB Players, Inc, which was previously caught in legal disputes with prominent sportsbooks, including FanDuel, DraftKings, and bet365, alleging that the latter had misused the imagery and likeness of baseball athletes without authorization.

Following a settlement, it appears that the sector has now collectively moved to acknowledge the need to enter commercial partnerships to secure licensing rights. 

The NCAA brought a similar case to the public’s attention. A federal court denied the NCAA’s request to immediately block sportsbooks from using “March Madness” branding, finding no urgent “irreparable harm” despite potential trademark infringement.

While the NCAA argues for misuse, the case remains active with sportsbooks defending their use as necessary nominative fair use to identify the tournament.