Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) has been among the most aggressive banks when it comes to sports deals for its card marketing programs (credit card news). In a surprising blow, it has been ousted as the official bank sponsor of the NFL, a contract it has held since 1995. According to the AP, the NFL's new card partner is Barclays (Barclays news), which wants a larger presence in the U.S. sports scene.

It's unclear why the NFL failed to reach a new agreement on its partnership. But Bank of America remains the official bank of Major League Baseball and of specific NFL teams, the Washington Redskins, New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys.

Some speculate that the break-up may have been tied to debit cards, which customers usually keep longer and don't entice people to run up debt. One expert told the AP that Bank of America may have wanted only to have debit cards accumulate NFL points. But that is all speculation. We may never know. As for Barclays, it has also linked deals to name the New Jersey Nets' new NBA arena in Brooklyn and sponsor the PGA Tour's Barclays tournament.

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