SponsorUnited shares data on increased sponsor spend in women’s sports

The GIST: Last week, sports sponsorship insights platform SponsorUnited released its Women in Sports Marketing Partnerships 2024–2025 report. The report analyzed sponsorships and endorsements from athletes and teams across the NWSL, WNBA, WTA, LPGA, Liga MX Femenil, and NCAA.

• While there's been a record amount of revenue in men's sports sponsorship this year, sponsorship deals in women’s sports grew at a higher rate than men’s sports: 12% vs. 8%, respectively YoY. Women’s sports may have a different starting point, but this report indicates the women’s game is quickly covering ground. Let’s dive in.

🍺 Financial services, alcohol, and healthcare represented the top three industries investing in women’s sports, with the alcohol category seeing the largest growth in deals. Feeling the buzz.

💰 The NWSL saw the largest YoY growth in percentage of sponsorship deals (19%), with the WNBA behind by less than a percentage point and the LPGA also seeing major gains (14%).

🏀 WNBA players claimed six of the top 10 spots for pro athlete endorsements, led by Cameron Brink (31) and followed by Angel Reese (25) and Kamilla Cardoso (20).

🏆 While Caitlin Clark had fewer individual brand deals, she significantly drove growth for the Indiana Fever in terms of sponsorship deals (43%) and social media following (415%).

📱 Angel Reese leads all WNBA athletes in branded engagement thanks to her 5.23M TikTok followers, 4.5M more than the next closest WNBA player.

🎾 Tennis remains a lucrative space to play and spend: Nine of the top 10 most active brands have a WTA presence, while Iga Świątek had the highest total branded engagement.

⏰ Longtime LPGA and WTA sponsor Rolex was the only jewelry brand with double-digit partnerships across all five pro women’s sports leagues. Keep ‘em shining.