Beyond the Big Leagues: The Diversification of the Sports Sponsorship Market
In 2023, the value of the global sports sponsorship market broke the $100 billion mark, with projections reaching nearly $190 billion by 20301. Overall sports viewership2 is increasing year-over-year. So in a fan-driven industry like sports, where bigger audiences have traditionally yielded bigger business, it wasn’t surprising when the NBA raked in $1.5 billion3 in sponsorship revenue in just one season, a 7% increase from the previous season. What was surprising? That it was only .79% of total sports sponsorship worldwide. Even more surprising? As dominant as the five major U.S. sports leagues are, their combined sponsorship revenue totals only ~6.3% of the global sports sponsorship market1, 4. Which begs the question–where’s the rest of the money going?
With the advent of streaming and social media, a diverse range of fans—both new and seasoned—are finding their place across an expanding variety of sporting events. Beyond the approximately $20 billion European sports sponsorship market5, opportunities in women’s sports are growing rapidly. New leagues like the NSL and the PWHL have created more professional opportunities for female athletes, while offering brands new avenues for engagement in the sports landscape. Similarly, the NCAA’s updated Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) policy has opened doors for collegiate athletes like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Travis Hunter to connect directly with brands, drawing millions of new admirers. As these emerging leagues and star athletes gain loyal followings, brands are eager to seize the opportunity to connect with this growing audience.
Further, what does all of this mean for the stalwarts of the industry, the dynastic teams and companies who have built billion-dollar empires due in part to their massive sponsorship deals? Should the Dallas Cowboys be worried about the AFFL’s Dallas Ocelots, an emerging professional flag football league? While it seems unlikely that the Cowboys would lose fans– or sponsors– to the Ocelots, it does make one think about what converts consumers to becoming fans of emerging sports, and what new demographics this will bring for brands looking to get in on, or expand in, the sports sponsorship game.
As the worldwide popularity and accessibility of sports continues to grow–with revenue streams growing in parallel– the sponsorship market faces an exciting opportunity to expand beyond the domain of major sports leagues and its legacy stars. In this three-part series on the diversification of the sports market, we’ll explore how women’s sports, emerging sports (and leagues), and collegiate athletics are not only evolving their own games, but the sports sponsorship market as well. Stay tuned for the first installment, where we’ll dive into the world of women’s sports, available on November 6th, right here on SPIQE.com.
References
1 Size of sports sponsorship market worldwide in 2022, with a forecast for 2023 and 2030 https://www.statista.com/statistics/269784/revenue-from-sports-sponsorship-worldwide-by-region/
2 Number and share of live sports viewers in the United States from 2021 to 2025 https://www.statista.com/statistics/1310558/live-sports-viewers-us/
3 NBA Sponsorship Revenue Hits Record $1.5B, Fueled by Tech Brands
https://www.sportico.com/business/sponsorship/2024/nba-sponsorship-revenue-record-1-5b-fueled-by-tech-brands-1234779660/
4 Sponsorship revenue of the major sports leagues in the United States in 2022 https://www.statista.com/statistics/1380768/sponsorship-revenue-sports-leagues-usa/
5 Size of the sports sponsorship market in Europe from 2019 to 2022
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1430225/sports-sponsorship-market-size-europe/