5 Strangest College Bowl Game Sponsors

Beef O'Brady's Bowl
Dec. 21
Sponsor: Beef O'Brady's
Location: St. Petersburg, Fla.
Matchup: University of Central Florida vs. Ball State
Payout: $1 million

For two years, more than three-quarters of the country looked at the name of this bowl and said "Who's Beef O'Brady?"

They're still not sure, but it hasn't stopped the Tampa, Fla.-based restaurant chain with the Irish pub theme from cashing in on its hometown bowl. Why shouldn't it? Chick-fil-A, Little Caesar's, Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) and Bloomin Brands' (BLMN) Outback Steakhouse all host their own bowls, but pay a whole lot more than the $400,000 Beef O'Brady's shelled out for a four-year deal that includes eight commercials during each national broadcast.

Does it pay off? Consider that roughly 45 of Beef O'Brady's 210 locations are in the Tampa/St. Pete area. About 60% of its locations are in Florida. Even if it doesn't gets folks to come in for the bowl, it definitely draws interest home and elsewhere.

"Our website normally gets 21,000 hit a week. We got 21,000 the day of the Beef Bowl -- so we get a whole week's worth of hits in a night," Chief Executive Chris Elliott said earlier this year.

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