• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, February 27, 2007

Sports-gear manufacturer Russell Athletic, whose distinctive "R" logo adorns the jerseys of a smattering of college football teams, is moving into the pro ranks with the title sponsorship of ESPN's Arena Football League coverage.

The five-year deal turns ESPN's 29 regular-season and playoff games into "Russell Athletic ESPN Arena Football" and brings the apparel marketer's logo to team uniforms. Like many ESPN rights deals nowadays, events will appear on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, which will air the season debut doubleheader Sunday and the Arena Bowl July 29.

"Not only will you hear the Russell name during AFL telecasts, you'll see this exciting league's talented players wearing our uniforms," says Doug Kelly, president of Russell Athletic. "This unique five-year naming-rights entitlement agreement with ESPN is a natural extension of our strong commitment to the AFL."

The AFL returns to ESPN after an absence. NBC picked up games in an attempt to keep football on the network. But with the NFL back on Sunday nights, the network opted not to continue its deal with the league, whose season runs in the NFL off-season.

Much like its efforts to elevate the prominence of NASCAR's second-tier Busch Series, ESPN is attempting to do the same with the AFL, partly by assigning its popular morning radio-show team of Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic to call the games.