Chad Johnson said that the winning coach in the Super Bowl would be showered with red Gatorade. He predicted that wide receiver Kadarius Toney, who has not played in the Kansas City Chiefs’ three playoff games, would score the first touchdown.
And midway through his segment of a digital show inside a Las Vegas hotel convention center, Johnson, who is known by many as Ochocinco, proclaimed that if the Chiefs lost to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, he would divorce his wife and forgo sex for the rest of the year.
“That’s a lot you’re putting on this,” said Michael Bolling, a host for the sports website Bleacher Report.
“That’s how confident I am,” replied Johnson, who was appearing as a guest.
During his 11 N.F.L. seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals, Johnson was one of the league’s most boisterous personalities, remembered for his creative touchdown celebrations and adopting the name Ochocinco, after his No. 85 jersey. That is a particularly valuable commodity on Radio Row, the primary vessel for companies to hawk their wares at one of the largest entertainment events of the year.
More than 100 radio personalities, broadcast companies and other outlets host segments, mostly with current or retired N.F.L. players who are paid by brands to promote products in the week leading up to the game.
“You have everyone here — it’s one center location,” said Doug Sanders, Johnson’s marketing agent for the past seven years. “Everyone’s here around this game and excited for it, but also excited for the players, and you’re able to capitalize and gain visibility for whatever they’re trying to promote.”
Radio Row started in earnest in 1993, when about 10 radio stations descended on a Los Angeles-area hotel to broadcast shows ahead of Super Bowl XXVII. The ragtag setup consisted of eight-foot-long tables, arranged side-by-side, with folding chairs. This year, at the bustling Mandalay Bay Convention Center, companies like Toyota and Bounty constructed extravagant sets with fluorescent lights and scrolling banners.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield wore a black Advance Auto Parts zip-up sweater and promoted the company on the airwaves. Michael Penix Jr., who led the University of Washington to last month’s college football national championship game, marketed the pen company Sharpie.
As technology has changed, so has Radio Row, which the N.F.L. now also calls Media Row because it welcomes podcasters, television outlets and streaming platforms. The ESPN personality Pat McAfee hosted his daily show there this week. And the former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton interviewed Shannon Sharpe, the ESPN sportscaster and Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end, on his podcast.
International participation has also increased. Shawne Merriman, a former linebacker, completed a spot with a media outlet from Ireland, which he said would not have happened when he played in the league more than a decade ago.
“When I see media, I just see opportunity, and this is the place to do it,” Merriman said.
Sanders said he normally begins scouting for potential spots for Johnson midway through the N.F.L. season. They agreed to an hourlong segment with Bleacher Report, which does branded content with the online betting company DraftKings, because Johnson has worked with it before and enjoyed the relationship.
When Johnson entered the convention center, he hugged about 10 people before sitting on a couch, setting down his small coffee and fastening a headset and microphone.
As the conversation about Super Bowl prop bets devolved into banter, a producer argued that he could beat Johnson in a football video game. “We need to get him checked out,” Johnson said.
Earlier in the week, Johnson had posted on the X platform that he was joining the Las Vegas Raiders as a coach. When Johnson ended his segment, he was greeted by an ESPN reporter who peppered him with questions as he walked to the bathroom. Johnson clarified that the claim was a joke.
As Johnson exited the building, he hugged Troy Vincent, a high-ranking N.F.L. executive, before entering a black S.U.V.
Companies began to enlist high-profile athletes to endorse their products as Radio Row expanded. It was a welcome change for the broadcasters, who previously had to scour lobbies and hallways in search of guests and then escort them to their tables. Now, the stars come to them.
A company with a prominent athlete as its spokesman will get attention on Radio Row, said Chris Russo, known as Mad Dog, a former WFAN host who now works for SiriusXM.
“He’s going to be on a million stations,” Russo said. “They’re not sending the vice president — we’d never put him on — so having so many players available makes it valuable to be there.”
In recent years, FanDuel, another online sports betting company, has used current and former athletes, including Rob Gronkowski, to highlight the expansion of its broadcast programming. On Thursday morning, the host Kay Adams completed a segment with not-so-subtly-placed Smirnoff vodka products in the shot.
But the advertising also goes beyond sports.
Solomon Wilcots, a former N.F.L. player who is now a SiriusXM host, recalls conducting a segment in 2010 with the comedians Chris Rock, Kevin James and Adam Sandler, who were promoting their upcoming movie “Grown Ups” ahead of Super Bowl XLIV in Miami.
The boxer Floyd Mayweather, whom Wilcots was scheduled to interview next separately, joined the three actors and it evolved into a lively conversation. The comedians teased Mayweather because he had not yet agreed to a highly anticipated fight against Manny Pacquiao.
“The N.F.L. is a business, and they help other companies with their business by sharing these platforms,” Wilcots said. “I think it is a phenomenal quid pro quo.”
Johnson is capitalizing on the business of the Super Bowl beyond Radio Row as well.
He has filmed a commercial with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and will do a marketing appearance for Electronic Arts, the company that makes the Madden video games.
His week’s schedule also includes appearing on the ESPN morning debate show “First Take” and filming an episode of “Nightcap,” his popular podcast with Sharpe.
“It’s fun, and with all the opportunities bestowed upon me, I really wanted to be here and show face,” Johnson said.
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