PayPal is making two strategic moves to reinvigorate its growth trajectory: a deepened integration with Canva and a landmark sponsorship deal with the NFL. Both initiatives, announced in rapid succession, aim to expand the fintech giant’s user engagement and transaction volume by embedding its services into everyday digital and sports experiences.
The Canva integration, revealed in late April 2026, allows users to pay for premium subscriptions, print orders, and team collaboration features directly through PayPal within the design platform. This builds on an existing relationship and streamlines checkout for Canva’s global user base, which surpassed 150 million monthly active users in early 2026 according to company disclosures. By reducing friction in the payment process, PayPal seeks to capture a larger share of the creative economy’s spending, particularly among freelancers, small businesses, and educators who rely on Canva for visual content.
Simultaneously, PayPal has been named the NFL’s first official peer-to-peer payments sponsor, a multi-year agreement that activates at the 2026 NFL Draft. The deal designates PayPal as the league’s exclusive partner for peer-to-peer transactions, enabling fans to send and receive money for tickets, concessions, and merchandise using the platform. As part of the activation, PayPal has enlisted five top NFL draft prospects as brand ambassadors: Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate, Washington wide receiver Denzel Boston, and Penn State quarterback Drew Allar.
Jeremiyah Love spoke about the partnership in an exclusive interview with On3, recalling his long-standing use of PayPal. “PayPal has been a part of my life for a long time,” Love said. “I send my friends money with PayPal, where we split costs and stuff like that. I’ve used it in high school, I’ve used it in college. It’s just always been around.” He added that the collaboration felt authentic because of his personal history with the service, noting, “The partnership is just very authentic. The connection was already there because I’d been using it for a long time.”
The NFL partnership includes sweepstakes offering fans chances to win tickets, upgraded seating, and exclusive experiences, with a season-long promotion awarding up to $1 million in total prizes. PayPal will also support NFL flag football initiatives, including the NFL Flag College Showcase held during draft week. Tracie Rodburg, the NFL’s senior vice president of global sponsorships, emphasized the strategic fit, stating, “As a global leader in peer-to-peer payments, PayPal is helping fans create new experiences, and connections. This partnership, which covers the NFL ecosystem including flag football across multiple international markets and promotion of the NFL Flag College Showcase at Draft, is the perfect fit as we bring our game to the world.”
From a corporate perspective, PayPal’s leadership highlighted the international dimension of the deal. Ben Volk, SVP and GM of PayPal Consumer, pointed to the NFL’s expanding global footprint—nine regular-season games scheduled outside the U.S. For the 2026 season—as a catalyst for increased cross-border transactions. “It’s hard to move money around the globe, but we have those capabilities,” Volk said, underscoring PayPal’s infrastructure for international payments as a key asset in the collaboration.
The agreement also allows for the leveraging of Venmo, PayPal’s subsidiary, under certain terms, though PayPal will remain the lead brand in all NFL-facing activations. Industry sources confirmed that Art & Science Partners negotiated the deal, while Horizon Sports & Experiences is managing activation. Neither firm responded to requests for comment.
PayPal’s existing sports sponsorships provide context for the NFL deal’s significance. The company already sponsors the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences through its Venmo brand, has been the jersey patch sponsor of the Phoenix Suns since 2018, sponsors the Phoenix Mercury, and has held naming rights to the San Jose Earthquakes’ stadium since 2021. Notably, Diego Scotti, PayPal’s EVP and GM/Consumer, previously served as CMO of Verizon, one of the NFL’s largest corporate sponsors, suggesting potential synergies in leveraging executive experience.
These moves come as PayPal seeks to reaccelerate growth after a period of moderating expansion. The company reported flat year-over-year revenue growth in Q1 2026, prompting renewed focus on strategic partnerships that drive habitual use. By integrating into platforms like Canva where users engage in frequent, discretionary spending, and aligning with high-visibility sports properties like the NFL, PayPal aims to increase both transaction frequency and user retention.
The dual strategy reflects a broader shift in PayPal’s approach: moving beyond peer-to-peer core use cases to become a ubiquitous payment layer in digital creation and live entertainment ecosystems. Whether splitting a bill for a group design project on Canva or paying for concessions at an NFL game in London or Munich, the goal is to produce PayPal the default choice for seamless, secure transactions.
As of now, the next confirmed checkpoint is the 2026 NFL Draft, scheduled for late April 2026 in Detroit, where PayPal’s rookie ambassador class will make their first public appearances in support of the partnership. Fans and users can expect to see co-branded content across social and digital platforms in the coming weeks.
For ongoing updates on PayPal’s sports and technology initiatives, follow official announcements from the company and league partners. Share your thoughts on how these partnerships might shape the future of digital payments in sports and creativity.
