The NFL, known for being protective of its wholesomely macho identity, is giving erectile dysfunction drugs the cold shoulder.

The National Football League says it will not renew a marketing agreement with the makers of the anti-impotence drug Levitra out of concern ads promoting the three most popular erectile dysfunction drugs -- Viagra, Cialis and Levitra -- became a bit too racy in recent years.

"It's the category we had concerns with," said Brian McCarthy, spokesman for the NFL. "It went from being a men's health initiative to more of a lifestyle performance issue in the marketing and advertising strategy."

Bayer, which makes Levitra, and its marketing partner GlaxoSmithKline, paid a reported $18 million on the sponsorship deal that is set to expire in March. The agreement allowed the two companies, both of which have sizable local operations, to include the NFL logo on Levitra ads beginning in 2003.

It was unclear what the NFL's decision means for marketing relationships between Levitra and individual NFL teams, such as the Indianapolis Colts, who will host the Pittsburgh Steelers in a playoff game Sunday and have enjoyed revenue from a Levitra sponsorship.

Once the current agreement ends, drug companies still can promote drugs that treat erectile dysfunction -- ED, for short -- during football games, said Mr. McCarthy, the league spokesman.

But the breakup between pro football and ED drugs might be complete because of new marketing guidelines that have been voluntarily adopted by pharmaceutical companies.

Representatives from Pfizer, which makes Viagra, and Eli Lilly, which makes Cialis in a joint venture with a suburban Seattle company, said their firms have pledged to not run ED ads during programs for which adults account for less than 90 percent of the viewers. That standard would preclude advertising during the Super Bowl, where children account for more than 10 percent of viewers.

While Viagra never has bought ads during the game, Cialis launched its marketing efforts in 2004 with a Super Bowl ad and was back for last year's championship game.

A spokeswoman for GlaxoSmithKline would not comment on the company's Super Bowl plans, but noted that the drug companies behind Levitra currently run ads that don't mention the medication by name, or even the words "erectile dysfunction." During 2004, Bayer transferred its share of the marketing responsibility for Levitra in the United States to Schering Corp.

The NFL's pullout is the latest setback for erectile dysfunction ads.

In November 2004, the government ordered Pfizer to pull ads that failed to disclose known risks associated with the drugs.

The ads included the line "Remember that guy who used to be called 'Wild Thing?' " and culminated with the words "He's back" appearing on the forehead of a would-be lothario.

In 2005, the government called on Bayer and its marketing partners to pull the 15-second version of Levitra's "My Man" campaign, saying the ads lacked certain safety information and made a misleading assertion about how Levitra compares with other drugs in the same class. The Levitra ads featured an attractive woman -- dubbed Queen Levitra by The Wall Street Journal -- who described how the drug provides a "quality experience."

The current ad campaigns from the makers of Levitra and Viagra are less provocative.

Pfizer's ad, for example, directs men to a help line and advises them: "Learn more about ED and get information about a prescription treatment option."

Sports-related campaigns have been important to selling drugs in the ED category, which saw sales of more than $1.2 billion during the first 11 months of 2005, according to IMS Health.

Viagra has been a sponsor of both Major League Baseball and NASCAR. Deals with individual baseball teams involve placing a Viagra sign behind home plate.

Cialis has a promotional agreement with the PGA. Golf is a game that allows you to take your time, a drug company spokeswoman explains, much like Cialis users who choose the drug because it provides a 36-hour window of opportunity.

By that logic, might sponsorship of the U.S. Fencing Association be a good way to promote Caverject Impulse, an ED drug from Pfizer that is given by an injection into the side of the penis?

IMS Health numbers show that while Caverject and an ED drug called Muse are the fourth and fifth most popular treatments in the United States, their combined sales -- just 2.3 percent of the category's total -- are far shy of the big three.