IntroducingBreitling Launches Two New NFL Team Watches With Deal To Be Official Timepiece Partner Of League

The deal vaults Breitling into the arena of high-profile sport sponsorship. Think Omega with the Olympics, LVMH with Formula One, and Rolex with Grand Slam tennis tournaments, professional golf, and most recently, SailGP. And while the NFL is expanding internationally to stage more and more games in Europe and South America to grow its fanbase, it remains a distinctly American sport. Kern says the league and U.S. football align with Breitling's sensibilities and image. "It's a combination of lifestyle, the American lifestyle, the American NFL lifestyle, which is totally transversal. Its impact and values, and for those who are interested in American football, the way they play, everything related to it corresponds to Breitling," he says.

Known for its capable, functional, robustly built, and accurate luxury timepieces, Breitling watches have been the choice of astronauts, athletes, and adventurers, from CIA operatives to private security forces and militaries. Kern says Breitling pursued the multi-million dollar NFL agreement to reinforce its Anglo-Saxon style as a Swiss watch brand. 

The NFL is the number one sports league in a country that is the number one destination for Swiss watches. In the luxury watch market, the U.S. has been an outlier, pacing gains in Swiss watch imports while much of the world, particularly China, is pulling back. Of course, the recent imposition of 39% tariffs on Swiss goods imported into the U.S. has presented a significant challenge for all Swiss brands, including Breitling. Kern has stated that the company shipped several months' worth of stock to U.S. retailers ahead of the latest shock tariff rates and remains confident that a more equitable trade deal between the two countries can be reached soon. "I can not imagine it will stay at that level,'' he says.

For the new NFL partnership, Breitling has produced two distinct watches for each of the 32 NFL teams to be sold at boutiques and online. The flagship is the Chronomat GMT in steel at 40 millimeters in diameter. Each automatic, COSC-certified watch features the primary color of the team on the dial and utilizes each club's secondary color for the GMT hand that allows for tracking of another timezone. On the Kansas City Chiefs edition that we got to handle, this means a deep red dial and a golden-hued GMT hand. 

The watch features a 24-hour scale on the dial, a date complication at 6 o'clock, and a unidirectional timing bezel. The self-winding movement beats at 28,800 a/h or 4 hertz, and provides a 42-hour power reserve. The logo of the chosen team is engraved on the caseback, and the watch comes on Breitling's 'rouleaux' stainless steel bracelet with a butterfly clasp. The watch is 11.77 millimeters thick and measures 47.4 millimeters lug-to-lug. It doesn't have a screw-down crown but features two crown gaskets and 200 meters of water resistance. The Chronomat GMT NFL editions are priced at $6,600.

For those looking for a more sporty, get-up-and-go option, Breitling offers the Endurance Pro. A thermocompensated, COSC-certified, quartz-powered chronograph housed in lightweight titanium, the Endurance Pro NFL editions are 44 millimeters in diameter, 12.5 millimeters thick, and measure 52.49 millimeters lug-to-lug. The watches feature a 30-minute and 1/10th of a second chronograph subdial counters, a date complication, and proudly display the chosen team's logo at the 6 o'clock seconds subdial. Each team's unique color is utilized on the inner dial that features a pulsation scale, useful for tracking your heart rate in tense situations. It has a bidirectional turning compass bezel and comes on a rubber strap. It doesn't have a screw-down crown but is water resistant to 10 bar (100 meters) and features the NFL logo etched on the titanium caseback. The Endurance Pro NFL models are priced at $4,400.

Football is a religion in America, and fans looking to show off their team's colors have two distinct options from Breitling here. The deal is a bold business move that underscores Breitling's commitment to its biggest market, despite the current tariff challenges. With the team logo reserved for the caseback, the Chronomat GMT is a surprisingly subtle way to display loyalty with a quality timepiece that should last multiple Super Bowl dynasties. 

The Endurance is a more practical and in-your-face way to let everyone know who your team is. The previous batch of NFL watches was met with solid demand from fans, we're told. A key challenge for Breitling will be distribution and making sure the right NFL watches are in the right markets for fans of all 32 NFL teams. We expect plenty of fans will want to up their wrist game for game day and beyond.  

Brand: Breitling
Model: Chronomat Automatic GMT 40 NFL Team Editions / Endurance Pro NFL Team Editions
Diameter:  40 millimeters / 44 millimeters
Thickness: 11.7 millimeters / 12.5 millimeters 
Case Material: Stainless steel / Titanium
Dial Color: NFL Team Primary Color / Black with team primary accent
Indexes: Applied
Lume: Super-LumiNova
Water Resistance: 200 meters / 100 meters
Strap/Bracelet: Steel bracelet / rubber strap

Caliber: Breitling Caliber 32 / Breitling Caliber 82
Functions: Hour, minute, second, date, second time zone / chronograph, 1/10th second, and 30-minute counters, hour, minute, second, date.
Diameter: 25.6mm / 30mm
Thickness: 4.1mm / 5.12mm
Power Reserve: 42 hours / 3-4 year battery life
Winding: automatic / quartz
Frequency: 28,800 a/h or 4 hertz / quartz
Chronometer Certified:  Yes, both.

Price: $4,400 Endurance Pro, $6,600 Chronomat GMT
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: No

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