PHOENIX, Ariz.—With 2023 marking Oakley’s fourth season as the official eyewear sponsor of the National Football League, the brand has a myriad of activations, promotions and events planned in tandem with the Super Bowl this weekend in Phoenix, Arizona. These include a local youth football combine and fan events at the NFL Fan Experience all weekend long. Oakley is also the official sponsor for the Waste Management Phoenix Open’s 16th Hole, often considered one of the most unconventional, disruptive and energetic holes in golf.

The Waste Management Phoenix Open runs from Thursday, February 9 through Sunday, February 12 in Phoenix.

Oakley senior vice president, Justin Cupps, explained exclusively to VMAIL, “This year marks Oakley’s fourth season as the official eyewear sponsor of the National Football League. We want to communicate that in addition to providing best-in-class optics to performance athletes, we provide our extended line of lifestyle and sport eyewear styles for fans and consumers containing the same performance benefits of Oakley’s Prizm Lens Technology, every day.

 
 Justin Cupps, Oakley senior vice president.
  
"When we show up to national sporting events like Super Bowl and Waste Management Phoenix Open, we are targeting the same customers that are looking for professional eyecare. Last year, the Super Bowl garnered over 100 million views and Waste Management is expecting over 600K attendees; when we show up as a brand on the field, on the coaches and on the fans, and in the local community, we are educating all these potential customers on Oakley’s Prizm Lens Technology benefits.”

As part of its partnership with the NFL, Oakley delivers its Prizm lens technology to athletes in the NFL. In a fast-paced sport where quick decision-making is key and clear vision is crucial, Oakley shields are designed to enhance performance and optimize the safety of NFL players.

The optically-correct Oakley Pro Football Shield features Oakley’s Prizm Lens Technology, and has been engineered with freeform technology to match the unique curvature of Speedflex helmets and facemasks to help create and optimize fit. In addition, Oakley offers custom lifestyle and performance eyewear so fans can support their teams.

Both the custom and performance styles are scalable to ECPs. Cupps said, “The same Oakley product seen on the course and on the field are being proven at the highest level of performance and are available at your local eyecare professional. Most sun and prescription options are available to patients in… prescription.”


Garrett Wilson of the New York Jets speaks with Oakley Youth Clinic attendees wearing Oakley Encoder with Prizm 24K. Image courtesy of Oakley

  
Throughout Super Bowl week, Oakley has offered a variety of touchpoints for fans to experience the brand and be immersed in product offerings. Oakley arrived to the NFL Fan Experience in Phoenix on Thursday with a heritage museum that highlights Oakley Custom Product with a one-on-one customization experience.

Throughout the weekend, Team Oakley athletes will stop by to customize their own Oakley eyewear. This Oakley Custom Program is a unique program designed with an emphasis on personalization, allowing fans to choose their frame and lenses, as well as customize sunglasses with the colors of their choice.

On Wednesday, Oakley hosted a local youth football combine for nearby high school teams of both boys and girls. The clinic offered these young athletes the chance to train professional and participate in a combine session led by former NFL quarterback Jordan Palmer and NFL trainer Les Spellman. In addition, a number of Team Oakley athletes and representatives attended to support the young athletes; these included WNBA Star Diamond DeShields and YouTube personalities Dockery and Gage Ferguson.

Cupps continued, “Oakley looks to use the brand platform to empower the local community, specifically young athletes chasing their dreams. Our football campaign for this year is Move The Game Forward—on Wednesday of this week, we hosted a local youth football clinic for nearby high school teams in Arizona.

"The experience included a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to professionally train and participate in an NFL training session led by former NFL QB Jordan Palmer, and Eagles’ NFL trainer Les Spellman. In addition, each athlete was gifted a pair of Oakley Sutro Lite with the same Prizm Lens Technology Oakley is known for.”