Key points
- Ondas (ONDS) unit Sentrycs will run counter-drone security at Jacksonville Jaguars games, which Ondas calls an NFL first. The team is the customer.
- Red Cat (RCAT) signed a multiyear sponsorship with the Washington Commanders: stadium signage, military appreciation programming and an ad campaign.
- Neither company disclosed terms.
- RCAT rose 7.3% to $9.89 Monday. ONDS gained 4.2% on its Friday announcement.
Ondas (ONDS) and Red Cat (RCAT) each announced a deal with an NFL franchise over two trading days, Ondas on Friday, August 7 and Red Cat on Monday, August 10. The Jacksonville Jaguars are buying counter-drone security from Ondas. Red Cat is paying the Washington Commanders for stadium branding and a marketing campaign. Neither company disclosed terms.
What the Jaguars bought
Ondas said its Sentrycs subsidiary was selected to provide counter-drone protection at Jacksonville Jaguars home games at EverBank Stadium for the 2026 season. The company said the Jaguars are the first NFL franchise to invest in a counter-drone capability able to enforce temporary flight restrictions under the SAFER SKIES Act, rather than only detect aircraft entering them.
Bobby Lyle, the Jaguars' director of events and facilities security, said in the release: "Protecting our fans, players, staff, and stadium operations requires us to stay ahead of emerging threats."
The NFL has reported more than 2,000 unauthorized drone flights into the restricted airspace around its stadiums in each of the past three seasons, according to ESPN's reporting on the legislation behind the change. That restricted zone runs three nautical miles around the stadium and up to 3,000 feet, from an hour before kickoff to an hour after. Drones stopped play twice in that stretch, at the January 2024 AFC Championship Game and at a January 2025 wild-card game at M&T Bank Stadium.
The SAFER SKIES Act, signed December 18, 2025 as part of the fiscal 2026 defense authorization, lets certified state and local police disrupt, seize control of or disable a drone that poses a credible threat at a covered venue. Private companies and property owners get none of that authority, and interfering with a drone remains a federal crime for civilians. So the Jaguars' system will be operated by law enforcement officers, not by the team. Ondas said those officers train at the National Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Sentrycs calls the technology Cyber-over-RF. The portable system detects and tracks a drone passively, identifies it and locates the pilot within seconds, then takes over the aircraft and lands it without jamming radio frequencies or shooting anything down. Ondas bought Sentrycs for $224.6 million in a deal that closed November 17, 2025, when the unit had about 200 deployments across more than 25 countries. Sentrycs systems covered multiple 2026 FIFA World Cup venues before the Jaguars signed on.
What Red Cat bought
Red Cat announced a multiyear partnership with the Washington Commanders on Monday, August 10, built around military appreciation programming. The release lists in-stadium branding and digital signage at Northwest Stadium, game day activations and community initiatives, plus a marketing campaign across what the company calls one of the country's largest media markets. Red Cat is the sponsor in this arrangement, and the release describes no payment to the company.
Jeff Thompson, Red Cat's founder and chief executive, said: "Red Cat is focused on building the next generation of autonomous systems for the men and women who defend our country." Jim Rushton, the Commanders' chief partnerships officer, said the team is "proud to partner with Red Cat to celebrate the military community."
Red Cat sells to the US military. Its Teal Drones unit won the Army's Short Range Reconnaissance program of record in November 2024, a program the Army initially sized at 5,880 systems over five years. In July the company received a $2.49 million Air Force order to evaluate its Black Widow drone as a possible successor to the Air Force Security Forces' Teal 2 fleet, with delivery due by August 24.
| Deal detail | Ondas (ONDS) | Red Cat (RCAT) |
|---|---|---|
| NFL team | Jacksonville Jaguars | Washington Commanders |
| Announced | Aug 7 | Aug 10 |
| Role | Vendor | Sponsor |
| Terms | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Market cap | $5.7 billion | $1.7 billion |
| Last reported quarter | $50.1M revenue (Q1) | $20.2M revenue (Q2) |
Red Cat reported second-quarter revenue of $20.2 million, up 527% from a year earlier, with gross margin of 16.1% and a net loss of $35.3 million. It ended the quarter with $325.6 million in cash. Ondas reported $50.1 million in first-quarter revenue and raised its full-year 2026 forecast to at least $390 million. Ondas reports second-quarter results before the market opens Thursday, August 13, and the stock has run on an Army order, an Air Force Research Laboratory contract and the hire of former Mossad chief David Barnea in the past two weeks.
RCAT traded at $9.89 Monday afternoon, up 7.3% from Friday's $9.21 close, after touching $10.38 earlier in the session. Volume ran past 12 million shares against a two-week average near 8.7 million. ONDS traded at $9.21, up 1.1% from Friday's $9.11 close, and rose 4.2% Friday on the Jaguars news.
Both stocks were climbing before either announcement. RCAT closed at $7.45 on July 28 and ONDS at $7.86, and the wider group has moved with them: Kratos, AeroVironment and Ondas each gained at least 16% over two weeks while all three remained down for the year.
Prices are as of Monday afternoon, August 10, 2026. This is market news, not investment advice.
