Pitbull purchases naming rights to FIU's football stadium, to pay $1.2 million per year

The FIU Golden Panthers and musical artist Pitbull are entering a naming rights agreement together for the team’s football stadium, per Pete Thamel.

Reportedly, Pitbull is going to be paying FIU $1.2 million per year over the next five years as a part of the agreement. With that, FIU’s stadium will be called Pitbull Stadium.

Throughout his career, Pitbull has been closely associated with South Florida and Miami, in particular. After all, it’s the city where he was born, raised, and went to Miami Coral Park High School. Because of that, the connection with FIU, a school located in Miami, seems relatively clear. What’s more unique about the deal is that Pitbull is buying the naming rights for himself, rather than a business or company like most naming rights deals.

FIU is going worldwide 🌎

Welcome to @Pitbull Stadium pic.twitter.com/icZPBYSqja

— FIU Athletics (@FIUAthletics) August 6, 2024

FIU Golden Panthers director of athletics Scott Carr took to social media. There, he expressed his excitement for the new naming rights deal.

“Panther Nation,” Carr posted. “It’s a great day to make history!! LETS RIDE!! DALE!!”

This comes at a time when financial stability is a concern for many colleges, especially those at the Group of Five level.

The House settlement is going to change the financial reality for many college athletics departments. Being in C-USA, FIU is getting an estimated $800,000 annually from the conference’s media deal. Being able to make more than that from naming rights is massive for a football program that has struggled in recent years, in particular with financial issues.

Former head coach Butch Davis was highly critical on his way out in 2021. He claimed the university was sabotaging the football program with decade old equipment and for prohibiting recruiting visits.

Since then, the FIU football program has continued to struggle, going just 8-16 in two seasons under Mike McIntyre. D1 Ticker reported an average attendance at FIU games of 15,290 fans in 2023.

Throughout his musical career, Pitbull has also been active in several business ventures. That includes Voli Vokda and Cilantro Taco Grill. He also has some experience in the world of sports, as Pitbull became the co-owner of Trackhouse Racing, a NASCAR Cup Series team, in 2021.

Prior to this naming rights agreement, Pitbull doesn’t have a clear relationship with FIU. Instead, it’s the school’s location, in Miami, that seems to have brought the two sides together for this deal.

FIU went on to hold an official announcement with Pitbull at 11 A.M. on Tuesday to introduce the new Pitbull Stadium name.