The Patriots didn’t wait long to sign a lottery deal, as it came just one day after the NFL decided to allow its teams to make deals with lotteries. The team announced Friday their licensing agreement to put their logo on scratch-off tickets with the Massachusetts State Lottery

The Pats will have on their logo on an instant ticket that is expected to be for sale by the start of the 2009 season. “This is going to be a hugely successful collaboration,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said.

After decades of a strict no-gambling policy, the NFL’s owners voted Wednesday to allow teams to sign licensing deals with state-sponsored lotteries that could bring the league new revenue in a weak economy. The NFL remains strongly opposed to betting on the outcome of games, but commissioner Roger Goodell said lottery deals could generate money for “many different public purposes.”