This report provides comprehensive and current information and analysis of US Sponsorships and Sports Marketing including the sports sponsorship market size, anticipated market forecast, relevant market segmentation, and industry trends for Sponsorships and Sports Marketing market in the US.
US Sponsorships and Sports Marketing Statistics
Sports sponsorship opportunities remain in high demand from brands and advertisers. These are some statistics and insights into the US sponsorships and sports marketing industry.
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How big is the sport sponsorship market?
Sports fandom creates such deep connections that half of fans consider their favorite teams part of their personal identity, forging a connection between fans and their favorite players and teams that can actually improve the affinity for brands that partner with them. Hence, the deep value of sports sponsorships. Nearly half of fans like a brand more simply by that brand appearing on the jersey of their favorite team through a jersey sponsorship.
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How much revenue does sponsorship bring in sports?
Sports entities can generate more revenue with the added inventory and brands have more options for camera visible advertising to reach fans.
Current market landscape
Half of sports fans consider their favorite sports teams to be part of their personal identity, demonstrating just how deep fans’ passion for sports runs. That connection can carry over and improve consumer affinity for brands that partner with those teams, as nearly half of fans like a brand more simply by that brand appearing on the jersey of their favorite team.
Sports sponsorship, like many parts of the sports industry, faced unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to IEG data, an estimated $14 billion in sponsorship value went unrealized in 2020, through canceled games and lack of impressions from fans in attendance. In 2021 and heading into 2022, demand is up from brands for sports inventory and marketing campaigns, and interest is unlikely to decrease anytime soon. Brands still understand the power and allure sports offers for consumers around the country and across demographic groups.
Future trends in the sponsorship market in sports marketing
However, nearly two in five sports fans are looking to cut back their spending on sports as well as sports merchandise. With a notable share of fans focused on saving money, sports partnerships with activations in the form of physical items and experiences need to prove their value to fans even more.
While sports sponsorship has been disrupted over the past couple of years, the sports betting industry has seen tremendous growth over the same period, both from a consumer perspective and from a sports marketing perspective. Sports betting was a long dormant, untapped sports marketing industry simply waiting to be sanctioned. Now that it is permissible, all corners of the sports industry have gotten involved.
Read on to discover more about the US Sponsorships and Sports Marketing consumer market, read our US Marketing to Sports Fans Market Report 2021, or take a look at our other Leisure Time market research reports.
Quickly understand the sports marketing market
- The impact of COVID-19 on consumer behavior and the sports sponsorship market.
- How sports fans engage with and follow sports and how to cultivate fandom.
- Breaking through the crowded sports sponsorship landscape.
- The opportunities for brands when choosing what type of sports sponsorship is right for them.
- Examples of successful sports sponsorship activations.
- The impact of sports sponsorships on fans’ purchase behavior and brand affinity.
Covered in this report
Brands include: Yahoo! Sports, BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, Prudential, Tide, Proctor & Gamble, Ruffles, UGG, Subway, FTX, Hertz, Tesla, Nordstrom, Sleep Number, Calm, Whoop, Hyperice, Clorox, Chipotle, Budweiser, Anheuser-Busch, Molson Coors, Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Zenni, Pacifico.
Expert analysis from a specialist in the field
This report, written by Colin O’Brien, a leading analyst in the Sports sector, delivers in-depth commentary and analysis of the sports marketing industry to highlight current trends and add expert context to the numbers.
Sports sponsorship opportunities remain in high demand from brands and advertisers. Sports fans present a massive audience of deeply engaged consumers, well suited for brand integration and marketing. Sports sponsorships will continue to utilize star players, ethical and charitable components and reach fans across a variety of mediums in the future as the industry sustains growth.

Colin O’Brien
Sports Analyst