Report: Marketing Support For Women’s Sports, Athletes ‘Continues To Accelerate’
Thursday, October 13, 2022 at 07:26PM By Barry Janoff
October 13, 2022: Pro leagues such as the WNBA, NWSL, Hologic WTA Tour and LPGA have recently released figures showing that attendance, TV viewership and social media engagements are on the rise, so it is no surprise that marketing and sponsorship deals are also expanding.
That movement appears to be playing out across women’s sports at both the professional and NCAA level.
Sponsorships with women grew 20% year-over-year across major U.S. sports (LPGA, NWSL, WNBA, WTA), top European soccer leagues (Women's Super League and Liga F) and Big Bash League, AFL, NRL Telstra Premiership, Netball Superleague, Suncorp Super Netball and World Netball, according to the just released 2022 Women In Sports Report from SponsorUnited.
"Over the past year, some 3,500 brands bought a total of 5,650 sponsorships or media across 14 professional women's leagues and via collegiate NIL athletics, while 1,110 brands bought a total of 2,185 sponsorships or media with individual professional and college female athletes."
“While women's sports have always faced a variety of disparities in the industry, their ability to win over audiences and drive an exceptionally high level of engagement for brands is undeniable," Bob Lynch, SponsorUnited CEO and founder said via the the Stamford, Conn.-based global sports and entertainment intelligence firm.
“In recent years, attendance, viewership and social engagement for women's sports and athletes has spiked, leading to long-overdue financial backing through investments and sponsorships that are visibly paying off and should only continue to accelerate."
Financial firms are the most active sponsorship category among women's sports, increasing alliances by 30%; followed by Apparel & Accessories and Media.
Nike was the No. 1 sponsor for both pro and collegiate women’s sports, according to the SponsorUnited report.
Among individual athletes, Alex Morgan of the NWSL San Diego Wave and U.S. National Women’s Team was the most-endorsed female athlete of the year 
However, Morgan was far from the highest-paid female athlete regarding marketing deals.
That honor goes to tennis star Naomi Osaka, who earned $57.3 million, a calendar-year endorsement record for female athletes; followed by 23-time tennis Grand Slam winner Serena Williams with $45.9 million in marketing deals, according to Forbes.
Emma Raducanu, who since winning the U.S. Open Grand Slam in August 2021 added to deals with Nike and Wilson such companies as Tiffany, Dior, Evian and British Airways, earning more than $13 million, according to industry analysts.
The Top Ten women athletes based on marketing income also includes Venus Williams (tennis, $11 million), Simone Biles (gymnastics, $10 million), PV Sindhi (badminton, $7 million), Garbine Muguruza (tennis, $6 million), Candace Parker (WNBA, $5.5 million), Jin Young Ko (golf, $4 million) and Nelly Korda (golf, $3.5 million), per Forbes.
Ash Barty (tennis, $3 million), Morgan and soccer star Megan Rapinoe just missed making the Top Ten, putting their income from endorsement deals at just under $3 million.
With 940 brand deals in 2022, the LPGA saw a 30% increase in deals from the previous year and an 18% increase in new brand partnerships, including Coca-Cola, Rolex and Epson, according to the 2022 Women In Sports Report.
The Hologic WTA tour had 923 deals over the past year, followed by the NWSL with 496 deals.
Nike has sponsorships with the WNBA, NWSL, Women's Big Bash League (cricket), Netball and the LPGA; and with more than 60 athletes.
Nike also sponsors five collegiate athletes and has partnerships with 68 colleges.
Adidas is second among partner for both professional and collegiate sports, according to SponsorUnited.
The NCAA earlier this month said its Div. I Council approved the creation of a second women’s basketball 32-team postseason tournament “mirroring the construct currently used by the men's National Invitation Tournament.”
If approved, the earliest proposed date for implementation of this tournament would be after the 2023-24 season.
The recommendation will next be reviewed by the Div. I Board of Directors Finance Committee for further consideration of budgetary requirements.
Disney siblings ESPN and ABC televised 49 games from Tip-Off week through the conclusion of the WNBA Finals on Sept. 18, when the Las Vegas Aces claimed the first league championship in franchise history.
ESPN said the full 2022 season — including regular season and post-season — was the most-viewed WNBA campaign since 2006, averaging 412,000 viewers (49 games), up 22% form 2021.
The Aces-Seattle Storm regular season finale on Sept. 18 on ABC averaged 835,000 — the most-viewed WNBA game across all networks since May 17, 2008.
The 2022 WNBA season on Disney Networks was a year of monumental growth – and we feel it is just the beginning,” Ashley O’Connor, ESPN senior director, programming and acquisitions, said via the network, which has aired WNBA games since the league’s inaugural season in 1997.
“ESPN will continue to look for even more ways to elevate and showcase the incredible women of the WNBA.
Interest in the NWSL has increased among fans, media and marketers even as the league is dealing with a serious situation involving reports from players regarding physical, verbal and emotional abuse by coaches dating back to at least 2015.
In addition to the NWSL Championship, presented by Budweiser, scheduled for Oct. 29 in Audi Field, (home of the NWSL Washington Spirit), the NWSL, its partners and fans will celebrate the culmination of the 10th anniversary season and 50 years of Title IX.
Partners include Ally, Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser), CarMax, Deloitte, Delta, MasterCard, Nationwide, Nike, UKG, Verizon and Voyager.
Media partners include CBS, SiriusXM and Twitch.
"Their ability to win over audiences and drive an exceptionally high level of engagement for brands is undeniable."
“This year’s NWSL Championship marks the end of a historic season,” commissioner Jessica Berman said via the league.
“We’re excited to host a series of events to salute not only the accomplishments of our teams and players in reaching the final but also the efforts of those who have given this league and the broader women’s sports landscape the platform it deserves, from fans to sponsors to thought leaders and beyond.”
SponsorUnited said it tracks more than 700,000 sponsorships and endorsements across 200,000 brands,
The 2022 Women In Sports Report was compiled using "SponsorUnited’s proprietary platform data from September 2021 through September 2022. Social data compiled from property or person-controlled Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and LinkedIn accounts and social activity."
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