The National Women’s Soccer League is just 13 years old, but it’s already hit $75 million in team sponsorship revenue as of 2024, almost as much as the WNBA’s team revenue of $76 million 27 seasons in, according to a new report from sports and entertainment sponsorship intelligence platform SponsorUnited.
While both leagues lag behind long-established men’s pro teams in the US like the NBA and NHL, which are topping $1 billion in revenue from team brand deals, the number of sponsorship deals for women’s sports is squarely on the rise.
SponsorUnited’s report, its first focused specifically on the NWSL’s growth, found that more than 200 new brands got involved with NWSL teams last season, bringing the total up to 401 in 2024 and representing a 16% increase in the number of sponsorship deals from 2023.
That being said, just three teams account for almost half of that revenue, which SponsorUnited said could spell “both opportunity and risk” for the NWSL in the second half of its 13th season.
Big picture: For the more than 400 brands that sponsored NWSL teams last season, the average spend per deal was about $170,000, with the biggest 10 deals coming in at over $1 million a piece, according to SponsorUnited data. Those included:
- Railway operate CPKC’s stadium naming rights deal with the Kansas City Current
- DoorDash and Angel City FC
- Sutter Health and Bay FC
- CarMax and Gotham FC
- Healthcare company Providence and Portland Thorns FC (Ring replaced Providence on the Thorns’ jerseys this season)
- CVS Health and the Washington Spirit
- Banking company BMO and Angel City
- AmericaFirst Credit Union and the Utah Royals
- United Way and the Current
- And the Black Future Co-op Fund and Seattle Reign FC
Brands in the healthcare and finance categories spent the most on NWSL team sponsorships last season, topping $25 million combined, SponsorUnited found; transportation, consumer services, and alcohol brands followed.
Brace yourself: With two sponsorships a piece on SponsorUnited’s top 10 biggest NWSL deals list, Angel City and the Current were among the teams with the highest sponsorship revenue, followed by San Diego Wave FC. Those three teams made up 46% of league-wide sponsorship revenue, meaning there are opportunities for other NWSL teams to follow in their footsteps.
Get marketing news you’ll actually want to read
Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.
For now, though, that imbalance represents something of a “structural risk for the league’s financial stability,” according to the report.
The Current and Angel City were both among the teams with the largest number of sponsors (47 and 43, respectively), though the North Carolina Courage and Racing Louisville FC each had more (61 and 94, respectively). Angel City, the Wave, and the Current are also in the top five NWSL teams by social media follower count so far this year, but the Orlando Pride holds the top spot, followed by the Thorns.
Angel City in particular represents “the power of engagement and monetization,” SponsorUnited wrote, finding that the team generates $29 per social follower and outperformed 15 MLS and 25 MLB teams in terms of sponsorship revenue per game. Angel City’s revenue per follower is also better than some MLB teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, which generate $13 per follower, and the New York Yankees, which generate $8 per follower, SponsorUnited found.
The NWSL club’s “ability to convert fandom into value is unmatched,” the report says.
Player perspective: Angel City is home to two of the NWSL players with the most endorsement deals. Defender and captain Ali Riley had 11 sponsorships in the last 12 months—the most in the league—with brands including DoorDash, Klarna, and Ascent Protein, while forward Alyssa Thompson was endorsed by nine brands, including BodyArmor, Subway, and investment bank Stifel, putting her at No. 3.
Chicago Stars forward Mallory Swanson split the Angel City duo at No. 2, having worked with 10 brands including AT&T, Frito-Lay, and Visa. Thorns forward Sophia Wilson and forward María Sánchez, who recently returned to Liga MX Femenil club Tigres Femenil from the Wave, rounded out the top five.
Read the full article here
