​The Dallas Cowboys’ $1.2 billion, 80,000-capacity stadium opened in 2009, and has yet to sell its naming rights.

But now, sources say owner Jerry Jones and the Cowboys are in advanced talks with AT&T over a renaming deal, and many predict that what ensues could be the biggest deal of its kind in the history of professional sports.

Companies who get their name on a stadium pay annual fees for the privilege, and rumors put AT&T’s possible yearly sum at around $25 million—$5 million more than the current most lucrative naming rights agreement between Levi Strauss and the San Francisco 49ers’ new home.

AT&T is already the title sponsor for the NBA’s Spurs’ AT&T Center in San Antonio, and the other SF team the MLB’s Giants’ AT&T Park. And already, the company has in-roads into Cowboys Stadium, with positioning on the arena’s giant scoreboard, the largest HD television in the world.

Read more at Bloomberg Businessweek.

Brief Take: This deal would be a boon for the Dallas Cowboys Stadium and almost certainly cost AT&T hundreds of millions of dollars over the next several years. Is it worth it for the telecom? According to Michael Wright, EVP at the Chicago-based sponsorship consultant IEG, yes: “If you look at the brands that have invested in stadiums over the last 20 years,” Wright told Bloomberg Businessweek, “some very smart marketers made those decisions. So many smart people are choosing to do the same thing, which in some ways counteracts the idea that it’s overpriced. And if you take a look, AT&T are always trying to outspend Verizon. They’re always battling each other for market share. It’s a classic Coke vs. Pepsi, Miller vs. Bud affair.”

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