NBA Sponsorship Hits Record $1.4B, Led By Finance, Retail, Sports Betting, Social Media
Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 07:50PM By Barry Janoff
May 24, 2023: Stating that the NBA “continues to excel in attracting brands,” a new report shows team sponsorship revenue grew more than $100 million from last season, reaching a record $1.4 billion during the 2022-2023 season.
The NBA sponsorship portfolio also rose 3.5% year-over-year, with 2,430 new brand deals, “but the increase in spend across deals is even more significant, rising 10.5%,” according to the 2022-2023 NBA Marketing Partnerships Report from global sports and entertainment intelligence platform SponsorUnited.
The $1.4 billion sponsorship revenue is second only to NFL sponsorship revenue, which was put at $2.7 billion by SponsorUnited, among the major pro sports leagues in the U.S.
"The NBA continues to excel in attracting brands, evident in the record high sponsorship spend and continuous year-over-year spend increase," Bob Lynch, SponsorUnited founder and CEO, said via the company.
"Whether it's well-established partners or emerging categories like Sports Betting and Technology, the NBA and its players' allure remains unmatched as brands recognize the distinct value this sport and its passionate fanbase offer to their marketing strategies. It is poised for continuous growth."
This season saw high-growth categories such as Financial, Retail, Sports Betting and Gambling & Lottery “account for nearly half the total revenue increase, which in turn drove considerable revenue gains.”
The Finance category had a solid year in the NBA, ranking No. 1 in total spending, highest year-over-year spending growth, and growth in deal volume, according to SponsorUnited.
The report shows social responsibility also drives alliances: "In a nod to both the growing spotlight on social responsibility and the NBA's role as a progressive leader in pro sports, more than 300 brands focused their league sponsorship efforts on social equality, environmental stewardship, community support and health and empowerment initiatives, as these purpose-driven assets surged 25%."
"The game's best players are just as influential on the court as off the court," said Lynch. "As NBA fans interact more and more with their favorite players, brands are presented with an unparalleled opportunity to form deeper connections with their audiences through endorsements."
YouTube integrated sponsorship saw the highest increase in asset usage year-over-year, with the league's YouTube channel attracting more than 75 million unique viewers every 90 days.
However, according to SponsorUnited, “Less than half of NBA teams have capitalized on the platform — a glaring oversight of a golden growth opportunity . . . ‘
Still, NBA players ”outperform other athletes on social media,” according to the 2022-2023 NBA Marketing Partnerships Report.
“NBA athletes possess extraordinary social media influence, surpassing other professional sports athletes by nearly 2.5 times the average engagement per deal.
“Playoff status measurably impacts NBA social media growth, especially on Instagram: Teams that made the playoffs saw a 33% higher increase in followers than those that didn't, demonstrating the influence of on-court success on fan engagement, according to SponsorUnited.
A recently released study from engagement marketing solutions firm KORE said Nike leads all brands, earning the most value through social media NBA partnerships, followed by Google, State Farm, KIA and Crypto.com.
NBA players outperform other athletes on social media: NBA athletes possess extraordinary social media influence, surpassing other professional sports athletes by nearly 2.5 times the average engagement per deal, according to SponsorUnited.
The NBA’s “social side footprint encompassed more than 2.5 billion followers and more than 45 billion video views over the last year — the largest among U.S. sports.”
Playoff status measurably impacts NBA social media growth, especially on Instagram. Teams that made the playoffs saw a 33% higher increase in followers than those that didn't, demonstrating the influence of on-court success on fan engagement.
The biggest value drivers across social media are the league and teams.
Among teams, the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers dominate social media, combining for 22% of the total followers and 33.5% of total engagement.
According to the NBA, the most-viewed players via social media this past season prior to the playoffs were led by LeBron James (1.3 billion views), Stephen Curry (881 million), Luka Doncic (736 million, Ja Morant (653 million) and Giannis Antetokounmpo 9522 million).
The NBA said it generated a record 18 billion views across social media platforms this season, led by 14 million new followers, largely from outside the U.S. The league said international followers make up more than 70% of the NBA’s social media following, with 50% of the total audience comprised of people age 25 or younger.
NBA on Instagram had 78 million followers and generated more than 13 billion video views this season.
The league also amassed a record 32 billion video views across all NBA and NBA-related social media accounts, up more than 10% year-over-year, spurred by growth among young and international followers.
The NBA said its announcement naming SUGA, South Korean rapper, songwriter, producer and BTS star, a NBA ambassador generated 4.8 million likes on NBA Instagram and 118,000 retweets on Twitter.
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