| OT What’s in The Bachelorette’s contract with University of Alabama? - Tampa Bay Times

What’s in The Bachelorette’s contract with University of Alabama?

Anyone who watched the last season of The Bachelor knows the next Bachelorette, Hannah B., loves Alabama and its powerhouse football program.

She’s from Tuscaloosa, home of the Crimson Tide. She graduated from the University of Alabama, worked “Roll Tide” into her conversations on the show and, according to her online bio, never misses a ’Bama football game. No word on whether she was in Tampa two years ago when her Tide lost to Clemson in the national championship game.

Regardless, it’s no surprise that ’Bama will have a key role when her season of The Bachelorette premieres May 13.

We have the contract to prove it.

Because I’m a college football reporter, I was curious about how the Tide would be involved in the show, after I saw rumors that ’Bama Hannah was filming at the school’s colossal Bryant-Denny Stadium. And because the University of Alabama is a public institution, its contracts can be made available to anyone who submits a public-records request for them.

I did.

On March 6 — six days before the The Bachelor’s finale —NZK Productions signed an agreement with the school to allow the show to film on campus. Locations include inside and outside the football stadium, the brick Walk of Champions (which commemorates all of the program’s championships), the quad and the library.

The cost: $2,000. That’s enough to cover two whole hours of football coach Nick Saban’s salary.

The rest of the contract seems standard. The show can’t paint anything or move any trees, shrubs or furniture without university permission. It has to fix (or pay for) anything it breaks. Security for crowd control must come from the school. ’Bama can’t stop The Bachelorette from airing and will allow the show to use its trademarks (royalty free), but the show can’t air any defamatory footage of the school.

My favorite detail: “The permission herein does not guarantee vehicle parking near each photography site on the Location.” Because there’s never enough parking on any campus in the country.

The film shoot was scheduled for March 8. Four days later, her announcement as the next Bachelorette was official.

This isn’t the first time The Bachelor franchise has dipped into sports. The IndyCar Series provided a street-legal show car for a contestant vying for the heart of Arie Luyendyk Jr., who drove in its feeder series. Arie and his fiancee, Lauren Burnham made a promotional appearance at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg soon after their season’s finale.
 
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