Inside the Highmark Stadium naming rights deal

And the winning bidder is eager to make the deal much more than putting a name on a stadium, with plans in the works to include events such as high school football games and graduations at the field.

Those are some of the details emerging about the naming rights deal for the newly rebranded Highmark BlueCross BlueShield Stadium, or Highmark Stadium for short.

Officials from the team and the health insurer kicked off the new partnership in Orchard Park on Tuesday. Here's a closer look at what the deal means for the Bills and Highmark:

Q: Was there much competition for the naming rights?

Yes, there was, according to Ron Raccuia, executive vice president of Pegula Sports and Entertainment.

"We had over a dozen interested parties, and four to six strong conversations with local and national and regional partners," Raccuia said. "The interest was really fast and pretty intense right from the beginning."

Raccuia said the "majority" were probably national companies.

Q: Who else was in the running?

Raccuia didn't name other contenders. Sports Business Journal reported that M&T Bank – which already has its name on the Baltimore Ravens' stadium – "was known to have been in talks with" the Bills. When asked to confirm that, M&T didn't directly answer. 

"We’ve partnered with the Bills for decades, and we’re excited to join them in welcoming Highmark and working together as a community of Bills fans as our team readies for another great season," said Julia Berchou, a spokeswoman.

Independent Health – a Highmark competitor – chose not to bid.

“Although we had the opportunity to pursue stadium naming rights, we believe those dollars are better utilized for programs and events that help directly improve the health and well-being of our community," said Frank Sava, an Independent Health spokesman.

Independent Health has its own partnership with the Bills, with community-wide initiatives that encourage healthy living, fitness and nutrition.

"It is our intent to continue these highly successful community programs with the Bills organization for the three years remaining on our current contract," Sava said.

Q: How long is Highmark's deal?

Raccuia wouldn't say, but a source familiar with the deal said it is for 10 years. The Bills' deal with New Era was supposed to run seven years, but New Era was released early from that deal last year.

County Executive Mark Poloncarz cast doubt on whether the deal was really for 10 years.

"I don't know how they could enter into a 10-year deal, because the naming rights expire" at the end of the lease in 2023. "Unless we grant them additional naming rights, they revert back to Erie County, and Erie County could name the stadium whatever we wanted," he said at a Tuesday briefing.

Q: How much is Highmark paying?

The amount was not disclosed. But two sources with direct knowledge of the process told The Buffalo News that the team was seeking a deal for at least $5 million a year for the naming rights.

Q: Did Highmark win the naming rights strictly on money?

Raccuia said no.

"We had offers well in excess of what our deal is with Highmark. It was finding the right community partner, with somebody that we could build on," he said.

Q: What's new with plans for possibly replacing or upgrading the stadium?

Raccuia noted that the team had previously conducted a study, and has updated it.

"Because of Covid, because of some changing economics through the country – the league, etc. – we have since completed let's call the revised study, and we are really looking forward to sharing that with our partners at the state and the county," he said.

Q: If a new stadium is built, will that change the terms of Highmark's deal?

"We addressed every contingency in this naming rights deal: the existing stadium, a renovated stadium, nothing happening, a new stadium, it's all addressed in the agreement," Raccuia said.

Q: What does Highmark Western and Northeastern New York get out of this?

David Anderson, the CEO of Highmark Western and Northeastern New York, said the deal helps in a number of ways. For one, Highmark is more of a national-type name.

"Having your name on a stadium and a facility like this gives you a marketing aspect on a much broader scale than we would require locally, so it made sense for Highmark to do that," he said.

The deal "also makes a very strong statement that says they want to become the fabric of the community" over a long-term period. The intent is "to create community partnerships through this venue and with Pegula Sports and Entertainment for years to come."

Q: What about other activities at the stadium?

Anderson said the stadium will become "home for health and wellness and charitable events, for high school graduations, for high school football games, including games in the Buffalo public schools."

Raccuia said: "It's about access. It's about, what other memories can we create here at Highmark Stadium besides great football memories?"

Q: Will Highmark members' premiums go up because of this deal?

Anderson said no.

"Within our business, this is considered a marketing and community event program. Any of the funds used for those expenses are considered administrative expenses," he said.

"So the expenditure associated with these naming rights would have no impact on premiums in the community," he added.

Poloncarz had the same question on his mind. He noted that Erie County employees are covered by this insurance provider.

“I was certainly hopeful that the ratepayers’ fees would not be going toward paying for the name of the stadium that’s owned by the people of Erie County,” he said. “It would be really silly for the Erie County employees to be paying a fee to an entity that then uses part of that fee to pay for the name on our own stadium. I’ve had multiple conversations with the Bills and Highmark about that.”

Q: Highmark Western and Northeastern New York was recently criticized by some philanthropic organizations over a $10 million contribution the organization will make to improve racial and health equity. Critics felt the donation should have been larger, following the deal between HealthNow New York and Pittsburgh-based Highmark Inc. Is paying for the naming rights connected to that issue?

Anderson said it's "not one or the other. One doesn't pull from the other. As we've explained very clearly, we have a track record that speaks for itself from community engagement and community support and that's going to continue and in fact be enhanced, as we announced recently. Our naming rights arrangement here on the stadium will have no impact on that; we're not taking from that to do this."

One of the critics, Robert Gioia, president of the John R. Oishei Foundation, said he considered whatever Highmark Western and Northeastern New York is paying for naming rights to be a separate issue.

But he and some other organizations continue to press for Highmark to make a larger donation stemming from the affiliation with Pittsburgh-based Highmark.

Mayor Byron Brown said he hoped Highmark's announcement "is the beginning, not the end of Highmark's commitment to our community and the residents of the city of Buffalo. As a strong corporate organization, I urge Highmark to reinforce their presence in Buffalo by building on their initial announcement of support for our more at-risk and vulnerable residents."

News staff reporter Sandra Tan contributed to this report.