This has apparently been going on for a while. And wow does it all sound stupid to me. It apparently also helps them bypass broadcasting rights (and paying players of course).

The NFL, CBS Sports and Nickelodeon teamed up to bring SpongeBob and plenty of slime to a “kids-centric” telecast of the 2024 Super Bowl, for example. ESPN and Disney presented a “Funday Football” Toy Story animated game in 2023, and another with The Simpsons in December, featuring the canonical yellow characters on the field and sidelines, pre-recorded segments and the show’s theme song and jingles.

The NHL has done several such projects dating back to February 2023, when it collaborated with ESPN and Disney for the NHL Big City Greens Classic — a live, animated telecast of a Washington Capitals-New York Rangers faceoff, with players modeled after characters from the animated comedy adventure series, which it reprised the following year.

It also presented the MultiVersus NHL Face-Off, a partnership with TNT Sports and Warner Bros. Games that brought beloved characters from the MultiVersus video game — including Bugs Bunny, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Steven Universe — to an animated matchup between the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights, officiated by the Tasmanian Devil.