• by Tanya Gazdik , September 7, 2011

There are a plethora of promotions, sponsorships and tie-ins that would have been kiboshed, but now are full-steam ahead, thanks to the agreement reached between NFL owners and players after a five-month tug-of-war.

The 2011 NFL season officially kicks off Thursday night with a matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints. Here's a roundup of current NFL tie-ins:

• Marriott International has signed a multi-year deal with the NFL to be the exclusive lodging category sponsor. The Courtyard by Marriott brand will be at the forefront as the "Official Hotel Sponsor of the NFL."

"This is the marriage of two powerhouse brands," said Brian King, senior vice president, Select Service and Extended Stay Brand Management, Marriott International, in a release. "Our Courtyard customer loves sports and we are excited to offer them access to one of the world's most powerful professional sports brands."

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Courtyard has had a four-year relationship with NFL Network, NFL.com and NFL Mobile from Verizon, which will continue throughout the partnership. The agreement also allows for the creation of "memorable experiences" for loyal Marriott Rewards members tied to events which could include the Super Bowl.

• Another travel brand, Virgin America airline, is launching a "Kickoff to Fall Travel" fare sale that offers sports fans the chance to "touch down" after watching fall football games in-flight on live TV.

The airline's Red touchscreen personal entertainment platform offers every guest one of the largest seatback television screens in the domestic skies. Nationally televised games are available at every seat via the carrier's live satellite TV on ESPN and NBC as well as locally broadcast football games on Fox and CBS.

• Football fans have to eat, so enter a Papa John's pizza giveaway promotion tied to the restaurant's position as the "official pizza sponsorship of the NFL.

Both new and existing members of the chain's Papa Rewards program will be eligible to win one of 60,000 large, one-topping pizzas to be given away, in the form of 20 rewards points credited to their accounts, each week during the regular 2011 NFL season (for a total of 1 million pizzas). Consumers can sign up for the rewards program at papajohns.com, and get more information on the brand's Facebook page.

Papa John's, in the second year of a multi-year NFL sponsorship, is also the official pizza of the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Tennessee Titans and Washington Redskins.

• To wash down that pizza, PepsiCo and the NFL have renewed a long-term partnership that takes effect in 2012. The new agreement builds on the organizations' 28-year relationship, aligns several of PepsiCo's brands with the power of the NFL.

Gatorade will continue its relationship with the League, delivering functional benefits for athletes via the Gatorade G Series along with powerful education programs like "Beat the Heat." Pepsi MAX will continue its relationship with the League as the official soft drink of the NFL, delivering fan-favorite activations both on-air and around the games. And Frito-Lay will continue its relationship with the League, delivering consumer and shopper activation engagement that promotes game-watching occasions like "Crash The Super Bowl."

PepsiCo will continue its sponsorship of the NFL International Series while Quaker Oats, the category leader in Oats, Rice Cakes and Chewy Granola Bars, will become a new partner of the League next year. Tropicana, the leading orange juice in the U.S., will also become a new brand engaged with the NFL in 2012.

• Meanwhile, the NFL and Verizon are bringing fans back to football with more live games, live NFL Network, news and information with NFL Mobile only from Verizon.

New this year, NFL Mobile will offer live streaming of ESPN's Monday Night Football starting Sept. 12 with the kickoff double header featuring the New England Patriots visiting the Miami Dolphins followed by the Oakland Raiders visiting the Denver Broncos.

The 17 MNF games are in addition to the live stream of NBC's 18-game Sunday Night Football package, NFL Network's eight-game Thursday Night Football slate and NFL RedZone, which delivers every touchdown from every game on Sunday afternoons. NFL Mobile delivers coverage of every NFL regular-season game, and fans can also use NFL Mobile to keep up with the action by watching NFL Network 24/7 throughout the entire season.

• Local NFL deals are also on tap. St. Louis-based cable company Charter Communications has selected St. Louis Rams' quarterback Sam Bradford to star in its latest ad campaign. Charter is the first large St. Louis company Bradford has contracted with to serve as spokesperson. The campaign kicks off Sept. 6 on cable and broadcast networks, in print ads, online and via outdoor media.

Charter also recently inked an expanded sponsorship agreement with the St. Louis Rams and earlier this month, Charter and NFL Network announced a new, long-term agreement for carriage of NFL Network. Charter, the fourth-largest cable operator in the U.S., will also offer customers the NFL RedZone channel. NFL Network and NFL RedZone are available in high definition.

• Buffalo-based M&T Bank has signed Fred Jackson of the Buffalo Bills as its new marketing spokesperson. Jackson will be featured in M&T Bank's multimedia advertising campaign throughout Western New York during the upcoming 2011 football season and work with M&T on select appearances and community events. M&T is the exclusive provider of Buffalo Bills checks and check cards.