PBR Bucking Sponsorship Trend?

GoDaddy.com, the web domain registrar famous for Danica Patrick and its sultry Super Bowl ads, has signed on as title sponsor of Pro Bull Riding's Portland event in October.

This follows up last week's announcement that U.S. Bank, a licensee since 2005, is now an official sponsor of the PBR

The GoDaddy.com Invitational will pit the world's top 40 bull riders against each other over the course of a two-day competition at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore. Oct. 2 and 3.

"Bull riding used to be a niche sport, but it's quickly growing into a big league event," said GoDaddy.com CEO and Founder Bob Parsons. "It's about as American as any sport there is -- and it takes nerve," added Parsons, who completed two Running of the Bulls events himself in Pamplona, Spain. "These professional riders are as tough as any athlete in the world. They're edgy too and we like that."

The last major sponsorship GoDaddy announced, presenting sponsorship of Affliction's M-1 Global Trilogy, didn't go so well. Actually, it didn't go at all as Affliction Entertainment folded before GoDadddy's event.

The GoDaddy.com Invitational sponsorship deal with the PBR includes Go Daddy branding on everything from venue banners to the actual chute gates. It will also feature another one of the company's new sponsorship endeavors -- Go Daddy Girl Erin Kalin, who is set to perform the national anthem both days.

PBR, which bills itself as "the most dangerous 8 seconds in sports," currently has sponsorship deals in place with Ford, Wrangler, Copenhagen, Las Vegas Visitors Bureau, Jack Daniels and Enterprise Rental Car among others.

“PBR is not only one of the fastest-growing sports in the U.S., it’s quickly becoming a worldwide phenomenon," said Cliff Cook, U.S. Bank Retail Payment Solutions chief marketing officer. “Expanding our partnership with PBR as an official TeamPBR sponsor allows us to be a bigger part of the PBR experience as we continue to offer the popular PBR Visa® card to fans.”