Earlier this year, Breitling announced it had become the “Official Timepiece Partner” of the NFL (National Football League).
Breitling did a limited licensing deal with the NFL in 2024, which included a 104-piece limited edition B01 42 NFL Chronomat Edition for each team; however, it was not until 2025 that they signed an all-encompassing, multi-year deal to be the “Official Timepiece Partner” of the NFL.
The NFL is the most profitable professional sports league in the world, and dominates the top of the US television viewership chart every year. Super Bowl LVIII was the most-watched single telecast of 2024, with 123.7 million average viewers.
If you wonder why no luxury watch brand has ever formalized an official partnership with the NFL — like I’ve wondered for years — I cannot tell you the answer. I can speculate that the annual cost limited potential suitors to only a handful of the top watch brands. And the fact that the Swiss love soccer (not American football) may have made it hard to seal a deal, as well as the long-held notion that sports such as racing (TAG Heuer partners with F1), golf (Rolex partners with the PGA), and sailing attract a wealthier demographic.
To solidify the NFL and Breitling’s historic partnership, this past August, Breitling announced two watch models for each of the 32 NFL franchises. One with an outsourced ETA-based movement, the Chronomat GMT 40 NFL Editions, and another with a Breitling SuperQuartz movement, the Endurance Pro 44 NFL Editions.
Chronomat Automatic GMT 40 NFL “Denver Broncos” Edition
The Chronomat Automatic GMT 40 NFL “Denver Broncos” Edition (Ref. A32398C81O1A1) comes in a sleek 40 mm x 11. 77 stainless steel case, that measures 47.4 mm lug-to-lug, and an integrated Rouleaux “bullet-style” bracelet. Equipped with an outsourced 4Hz Swiss automatic ETA 2893-2 GMT caliber with a 42-hour power reserve, the watch displays local hours, minutes, center seconds, the date, and has a 24-hour hand that displays a second time zone. Each Chronomat Automatic GMT 40 NFL edition features a unique color hue for every NFL franchise, and each team’s logo is engraved on the solid stainless steel caseback. $6,900
Endurance Pro 44 NFL Denver Broncos Edition
The Endurance Pro 44 NFL Denver Broncos Edition comes in a larger 44 mm x 12.5 mm, lightweight titanium case, with a 52.49 mm lug-to-lug distance, on a black rubber strap. It’s powered by Breitling’s COSC-certified thermocompensated SuperQuartz movement, which displays hours, minutes, small seconds, date, and features a chronograph, as well as a rotating compass bezel. (To use an analog watch as a compass, you point the hour hand at the sun, and then find the midpoint between the hour hand and the 12 o’clock position on the dial. In the Northern Hemisphere, the midpoint indicates south, while in the Southern Hemisphere, it indicates north. A rotating bezel allows you to mark the north or south bearing, to better keep track of your direction.) The NFL shield is engraved on the caseback, and a raised, full-color version of each team’s respective logo is printed on the small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock. The flange is painted in each team’s dominant color hue and has a 30-pulsations pulsometer scale to quickly measure your heart rate. $4,600
Final Thoughts
Breitling CEO Georges Kern stated in a prior interview, “The US is our number one market and the NFL is a gigantic phenomenon.” And we do not doubt the accuracy of his statement. However, there are valid reasons, as discussed above, why the NFL has not signed an exclusive luxury watch partnership before 2025. Breitling is clearly taking a bold risk, but they’re doing so in the world’s leading watch market, in partnership with the world’s most profitable professional sports league, so even if these do not appeal to all watch enthusiasts, they may appeal to enough hardcore NFL fans for the partnership to endure. Time will tell.
All photos were taken at Breitling Denver, run by The 1916 Company.
