It’s a femininomenon
From The GIST Sports Biz (hi@thegistsports.com)
Happy Women’s History Month!
The PWHL already has plans to celebrate, including activations across all six teams and a timely merch drop. The league worked with Canadian illustrator (and friend of The GIST!) Fiorella Granda for T-shirt designs and added a new page to its marketing playbook to reach the next generation of fans.
- The PWHL is partnering with author Jenna M. Prestidge for the seventh title in her bestselling children’s book series, Rosie the Hockey Player. The upcoming book will focus on the history of women’s hockey and hits shelves this Saturday. *adds to cart*
Women’s sports
📈 It’s a femininomenon
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.
🇬🇧 UK women’s soccer considers eliminating relegation to drive investment in clubs
The Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL) — the organization that oversees the WSL and second-tier Women’s Championship (WC) — is kicking around a proposal to eliminate relegation. The WPLL believes this could help UK women’s soccer thrive as more investors and brands would be more encouraged to support clubs.
- However, promotion from the WC would still exist without relegation from the top flight, with the WSL expanding by one club every season. Onward and upward.
🏛️ NCAA lawsuits banning trans athletes all funded by one organization
Front Office Sports highlighted that three major lawsuits in the NCAA targeting trans athletes are all bankrolled by a little-known nonprofit called the Independent Council on Women’s Sports. Although this has become a hot political issue, the data is inconclusive as to whether trans women athletes have any significant advantages over cisgender women. Protect trans athletes.
🏐 All-Star matches proving fruitful for PVF and LOVB development
Last month, the Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) successfully executed its first All-Star Game, with over 10K fans voting to decide the teams and a sold-out crowd of 6.9K. Plus, the game aired on CBS to become the first-ever women’s pro volleyball match on cable.
- And now, fellow volleyball league LOVB is ready to serve up the same. Today, the league announced its LOVB Icons program, which spotlights 14 top athletes on and off the court, decided by a weighted voting system involving fans, players, and coaches.
🏙️ The Chicago Sky are moving two home games against the Indiana Fever to the 21K-seater United Center after historic viewership in matchups between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark last year. Take me to Chicago.
🎟️ All 15K available tickets for the Fever’s exhibition game vs. Brazil’s national team at Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena sold out in under 40 minutes.
💸 NCAA revenue in 2024 reached a record $1.38B, but its many legal liabilities — which jumped from $304M in 2023 to $3.06B in 2024 — eroded its bottom line.
⚽ U.S. Soccer saw increased sponsorship revenue and decreased legal expenses that led to nearly $6M in profits last year, its first positive year end result since 2018. Nothing but net (gains).
🏀 UK–based sports network DAZN launched its DAZN Basketball brand and announced former NBA Europe executive Chus Bueno as the vertical’s managing director.
💊 A proposed ban against pharmaceutical TV ads could have a significant impact on sports: the industry spent $895.8M on in-game ad units in 2024, totalling 17.6% of the pharma industry’s overall TV spend. Tough pill to swallow.
Peep our squad’s MVPs (Most Valuable Picks):
🫄 How to know if a product is safe for pregnant mamas
With the Little Bean app. It scans the ingredients in your cosmetics to flag potentially harmful ingredients, giving you the tools you need to keep your lil’ bub safe. The ultimate self-care.*
🎾 Who to study
Serena Williams, and not just her tennis game — the GOAT has built a $340M business empire. Serving on and off the court.
🩸 What to watch
Arsenal women’s soccer’s campaign tackling the stigma around period stains in sports. Featuring stars like Leah Williamson and Beth Mead, they’re showing every stain should be part of the game.
*P.S. This is a sponsored post. Mother knows best.Today's email was brought to you by Aryanna Prasad and Briana Ekanem. Fact checking by Bonnie Lee. Editing by Dee Lab. Operations by Elisha Gunaratnam and Marga Sison. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alessandra Puccio, and Lisa Minutillo. Managing edits by Molly Potter and Ellen Hyslop. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.