Mater Dei High School is a verifiable California sports juggernaut, with a lengthy history of athletic success. Now the ritzy Southern California private school is preparing for a new world of competition in the high school sports scene, thanks to a landmark deal worth millions.
On Wednesday, Mater Dei announced it had signed a 10-year multimedia rights deal with sports marketing company Playfly Sports. While Playfly has similar agreements with dozens of colleges and high school state associations, Mater Dei said it is the first singular high school to sign such a deal in the country.
According to Front Office Sports, Playfly will be paying the Santa Ana-based Mater Dei about $1 million per year, with Mater Dei vice president of school relations Scott Melvin telling the Orange County Register that the school hopes to generate revenue into the “high seven figures” over the 10 years. While the deal touches all 28 of Mater Dei’s sports teams, Melvin acknowledged the powerhouse football program is a major part of the deal.
“It’s transformational,” Melvin told the Orange County Register. “Our hope is when you come to the [football] game this fall, it’s a completely transformed experience. You have culinary experiences. You have fan engagement experiences, whether it be by a sponsor that has a football toss or T-shirt gun.”
Mater Dei’s football program is the reigning back-to-back champion in the California Interscholastic Federation’s Open Division, the top level of competition in the state. The school has won five of the last seven Open Division state titles. Three alumni have gone on to win the Heisman Trophy in college: John Huarte, Matt Leinart and Bryce Young.
The Catholic school, which says it has an annual budget of $37 million, has also won hundreds of titles in the private school, sports-crazed Trinity League, the Southern Section and CIF state titles in other sports. In addition to the three Heisman winners, Lions star Amon-Ra St. Brown, WNBA sisters Katie Lou and Karlie Samuelson and Rockies infielder Ryan McMahon are just a few of the dozens of current college and pro athletes who attended the school.
The deal is not going to end up giving any Mater Dei athletes money directly, as high schools in California are prohibited from helping their students with name, image and likeness (NIL) deals. But this agreement will help Mater Dei enhance its athletic department in a way that few others have done.
“High school sports remain one of the last frontiers of amateur athletics in the United States, trailing college sports by 15-20 years in terms of commercialization and structural development,” Brent Vander Mey, Playfly group vice president, told the Athletic.
The CIF also confirmed to the Orange County Register that the school consulted with state officials before signing the deal, which officially begins at the start of the next school year.
Credit: https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/california-high-school-sports-millions-media-deal-20234327.php?utm_source=chatgpt.com