With the NFL sealing a deal with Bose this year, it makes sense for the two companies to try to get their deal out in the forefront. In doing so, the NFL is fining any player that is seen with headphones that aren’t Bose during interviews with cameras present. In fact, the fine can be up to $10,000.

It’s a ridiculous fine but if Bose and the NFL want to help their own branding and marketing, such moves make sense. But does Bose end up getting positive PR out of this?

Many of the NFL players have already been wearing headphones by Beats By Dre. In fact, a handful of them have deals with them. So it’s a tough situation for those players. They can either wear their headphones and take the $10,000 fine. Or they can either not wear them. Or they can do what Colin Kaepernick did and put tape over the logo.

However, covering up the logo is actually helping Beats By Dre. Many people know that Beats is the most talked about headphones in the market and anytime a player is seen with headphones covered up, they automatically assume it’s a Beats headphone. Even without their logo present, Beats is already reaping the benefits.

Even though Beats has been blocked off during interviews, they are still getting the publicity because of this deal with Bose. It’s like they’re the rebel headphones of the league.

Bose knew they wanted to get as much discussion about their product when they landed a deal with the NFL. The fines, in theory, are a great way to get their name out as they would in a sense, brand the league. But what we see here is that Beats By Dre is getting more publicity than Bose. And they don’t even have to have their logo show up anywhere.