The NFL’s Steelers have invested in the locally-based Pittsburgh Knights.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed at time of publication.

The investment follows a model set by organizations like the NBA’s 76ers and Heat.

The NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers have invested in locally-based esports team organization, the Pittsburgh Knights. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.

The Knights, who were founded in 2017, compete in Call of Duty , Fortnite , Super Smash Bros. , PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds , and Hearthstone . Despite keeping an emphasis on geolocation, the organization’s European-laden PUBG roster was recently added to the PUBG Europe League that begins competition in 2019. The Knight’s current sponsors include Totino’s, Twitch, and apparel company Arma Centrum.

A spokesperson for the Steelers told The Esports Observer, “The timing of it had more to do with us wanting to find the right group to do it with, and it’s also very important to the Steelers organization that we go with somebody local who’s interested in helping build the community and build something in Pittsburgh.”

Related Article: Rob Lee, Pittsburgh Knights CEO – “We’re Looking to Capitalize on Localization”

With the investment, the Knights join a number of esports organizations with traditional sports ownership ties. However, unlike moves by the Kraft Group or Kroenke Sports and Entertainment to buy Overwatch League teams, this deal is an investment by a team itself.

Though the New England Patriots’ Bob Kraft and Los Angeles Rams’ Stan Kroenke NFL ownership stakes give the Boston Uprising and Los Angeles Gladiators obvious ties to the traditional sports teams, the actual ownership entity is slightly different. This deal is more comparable to the investments by the NBA’s Miami Heat in Misfits and Philadelphia 76ers in Dignitas.