Are you ready for some football?

The 2025 NFL season kicks off this week with the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night.

The highest linear TV ratings are usually delivered by live sports broadcasts and no entity is a more reliable generator for eyeballs than the NFL.

It should then come as no surprise that drugmakers want to intensify their relationship with the league.

Take, for example, Novartis was named the first-ever corporate pharmaceutical partner of the NFL in March.

The announcement came one month after the Swiss pharma giant ran its first Super Bowl ad to raise awareness for breast cancer.

While Novartis receives top billing as the lead pharma sponsor for the NFL, there are other health brands pursuing opportunities with players and franchises across the league.

This week, we’re joined by Stacia Garner, VP of marketing at Edwards Lifesciences, to discuss the company’s partnership with the Los Angeles Rams to raise awareness of heart valve failure.

-TRENDS

And for our Trends segment, we welcome back Steven Madden to MM+M and dive into the ongoing turmoil at the CDC.

Music: “Deep Reflection” by DP and Triple Scoop Music.

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Music: “Deep Reflection” by DP and Triple Scoop Music.