State Farm expands League of Legends esports involvement

Insurance and financial giant State Farm has extended and expanded its sponsorship deal with Riot Games for League of Legends esports.

State Farm will sponsor the following events through 2021: LCS, League of Legends World Championship, Mid-Season Invitational, All-Star Event, and League of Legends College Championship.

League of Legends State Farm
Photo credit: Riot Games

Naz Aletaha, Head of Partnerships for League of Legends Esports discussed the deal: “We’re proud to announce that State Farm is extending their sponsorship with League of Legends esports and the LCS, reaffirming the value and opportunities that our sport delivers to brands. State Farm has a rich history of sponsoring some of the biggest sports and athletes in the world, and we were thrilled to be their first-ever sponsorship in the esports space at the start of our 2018 season.

“This sponsorship has been extended earlier than anticipated as we are both eager to expand and build on our many fan-centric activities up through the 2021 League of Legends World Championships taking place in North America.”

At the top of the year, Secretlab partnered with Riot Games for multiple years to cover the LCS and its global events. Mastercard and Alienware are also global sponsors for League of Legends esports.

Pat Culligan, Assistant Vice President of Marketing for State Farm added: “League of Legends, along with Riot Games, are a leader and innovator in the esports community,” said Pat Culligan, Assistant Vice President, Marketing, State Farm. “We look forward to continuing our sponsorship of League of Legends and our relationship with Riot Games.”

State Farm entered a multi-year sponsorship deal with Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch League in February and announced Benjamin “DrLupo” Lupo as its first individual esports sponsorship in January.

Esports Insider says: State Farm appears to be very happy with its time in esports so far, not only sponsoring a number of leagues but now expanding its deal with Riot Games to cover a lot more than just the LCS. Financial details haven’t been made public but we’re sure this wouldn’t have been cheap, so this is good news for the industry.