The American market
Sponsorship deals in women’s sports grew at a 50% faster rate than in men’s professional leagues in North America in 2024-2025.
Endorsements for athletes and teams in the NWSL (football), WNBA (basketball), WTA (tennis), LPGA (golf) and Liga MX Femenil (football) increased by 12% year over year.
Why?
· Traditional and emerging sponsors are urged to make good deals before the market matures
· Alcoholic beverages, apparel and consumer categories allow the monetisation of the audience’s lifestyle
· New sponsors fueled by new NWSL teams (Bay FC and Utah Royals) and WNBA stars (like Caitlin Clark)
· Global brands deepened their investment in women’s sports, reinforcing their leadership
Global brands in women’s sports include Rolex (tennis and golf), Coca-Cola (tennis, golf, basketball, football), Emirates (tennis) and Nike (tennis, basketball, football).
In advertising, TV ads during women’s competitions skyrocketed 139% in 2024, reaching USD 244 million in the United States. These ads had a 40% higher impact than the advertising average, generating more brand searches on digital channels after the spot aired.
A global movement
In Europe, the other big market for women’s sports, Uefa seeks to deliver another record-breaking Uefa Women’s Euro in Switzerland.
Uefa’s marketing director, Guy-Laurent Epstein, believes the main commercial trigger is the image and perception built from supporting the women’s game.
“We don’t want to limit partners to competitions such as the Women’s Champions League or Women’s Euro. It’s a global movement. Companies want to show that they do something to support women’s sport, so they invest in the sport not only for the media value but also for the transfer of image it gives.”
11 brands are part of Uefa’s women’s football sponsors, including top brands like Visa, Adidas, Amazon, Hublot, Heineken and Lay’s.
Making deals
Interesting! But what can we learn to make more deals?
Sponsorship is a marketing tool for business goals, and each sport and market influences the nature of partnerships.
However, here are the main commercial triggers I observed in women’s sports deals:
01) Reputation. Real investment in gender equality improves new and existing customers’ brand image and perception.
→ Show how brands
in your geographic area (local, national or international) invest in women’s
sports to strengthen brand attributes.
02) Engagement. Women’s sports content drives positive interaction with
specific audiences through athletes, teams and events.
→ Prove how content about women’s sports in your digital channels consistently delivers incremental engagement with fans.
03) Lifestyle. Connecting fans’ consumption habits with strategic product categories accelerates sponsors’ return on investment.
→ Segment fans based on behaviour and interests, not just demographics, to match data with companies’ business objectives.
04) Timing. The first-mover advantage allows sponsors to multiply their visibility, properties become more expensive as new brands join.
→ Explain why investing now not only drives more attention from media, fans and stakeholders but also positions the brand as the first in its sector.
Women’s sports go beyond sport.
It’s about celebrating performance and purpose.
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