By: Liz Farmer

An NFL ban on liquor and lottery sponsorships may be lifted for next season if the recession continues to scare away advertisers, the Sports Business Journal reported this week.

The proposal was approved by the league’s business ventures committee this month and is expected to be on the agenda for the owners meeting starting Sunday in Dana Point, Calif. The NBA also recently lifted liquor regulations, allowing for teams to market products at retail, in ads and on arena signs.

“If the NFL allows co-branded spirits marketing, it is expected to take the same course as other leagues and not allow direct designations, like the ‘official Scotch whisky [sic] of the Green Bay Packers,’ along with requiring a heavy social responsibility message,” the SBJ says.

Seems to me like Crown Royal whiskey and its distinctive purple velvet bag would be a natural fit for the Ravens. (And, interestingly enough, SBJ notes Mark Waller, NFL senior vice president of sales and marketing, was a Diageo marketer for 17 years and with the company when it broke NASCAR’s ban on liquor advertising with Crown Royal and others in 2005.)

Maybe it’s about time the NFL broke down this sponsorship distinction. Yes, hard liquor and gambling carry a bigger stigma in our society than just drinking beer and wine (i.e., no liquor sold in Maryland on Sundays). But it’s not as if beer is reserved only for those who are morally pure and immune to trouble — anyone who’s ever been to a bar knows that’s not true either.

But would this allowance by the NFL set a worrisome precedent? If it bends on this to allow for more revenue opportunities, what’s next? Playboy Magazine ads?