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Music superstar Pitbull reportedly agreed to buy the naming rights of the FIU Panthers stadium, according to college football insider Pete Thamel.
Pitbull, who has a net worth of $100 million according to Celebrity Net Worth, will be paying FIU $1.2 million per season for the next five years ($6 million total) to name the stadium Pitbull Stadium.
"International recording artist Pitbull is purchasing the naming rights to FIU’s football stadium. He’s expected to pay the school $1.2 million per year for the next five years to change the name of FIU Stadium to Pitbull Stadium, per FIU board documents," Thamel reported.
FIU stadium naming rights will mark beginning of commercialization in college football
FIU is located in Miami and is in the 305 area code, so the fit makes a lot of sense as Pitbull is known as Mr. 305. Pitbull is also familiar with sports, as he is a minority owner in the NASCAR team Trackhouse Racing.
FIU's board of trustees will be voting on Thursday to approve a five-year deal to name the stadium Pitbull Stadium.
According to ESPN, FIU will be the first college to have an athletics building named after a musician. As well as the naming rights, Pitbull will create an anthem for FIU. He will reportedly post about the school 12 times a year, and appear at one athletics fundraising event per year.
Pitbull will also get access to the stadium for 10 days per year, and his vodka company will get distribution rights in the stadium.
The stadium has a capacity of 20,000.
The FIU Panthers started playing college football in 2002 and joined the FBS in 2004. FIU is coming off back-to-back 4-8 seasons and hasn't had a winning season since 2018.
The Panthers are set to open its 2024 campaign on Aug. 31 against Indiana. Their home opener will be on Sept. 7 against Central Michigan, which will be the first time the Panthers will play in the by then-newly named Pitbull Stadium.
