Why Apple Was The Real Winner Of The NFL Draft

Jameis Winston, after all the controversy, was taken as the No 1 overall pick.

This year's Heisman Trophy winner went right after him. The Detroit Lions swung a trade to help beef up their offensive line.

But Apple Inc. AAPL came out as a major winner in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Both Winston and the No. 2 pick, Marcus Mariota, were sporting Beats By Dre headphones when their names were announced. Worth noting: Bose is the "official" headphone of the NFL.

Beats was acquired by Apple in May 2014.

The NFL is very protective of its league-wide sponsorships. However, players are not forbidden from signing sponsorships with who they please. Players have actually been fined for wearing non-Bose headphones.

As U.S. News & World Report noted, "San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has an endorsement deal with Beats, said he was fined $10,000 by the NFL for wearing a pink pair for breast cancer awareness at a press conference in October. He covered the logo up with tape at a later appearance."

Related Link: Are Apple Watch Sales Suffering From Inventory And Supply Issues?

"So smart of Beats to tell Mariota & Cooper to use headphones for calls. No way NFL or league partner Bose thought that would happen," ESPN's Darren Rovell tweeted. "You can pay to be the league sponsor, but if you get outsmarted & ambushed by your competitor, your deal will never pay off."

Rovell also tweeted, "Beats by Dre confirms it has signed Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota & Amari Cooper. Will be allowed to wear product off bus & before games."

Bose did have several first round draft picks of its own, but Beats was the one crashing the party.