2023 Year In Review—Sports & Entertainment Marketing Partnerships
The advancements and creativity seen in the 2023 landscape of Sports & Entertainment have been notably impressive. The collaboration between sponsorships and brand partnerships has been influential, establishing new benchmarks and directions.
- Team sponsorship revenue for US major pro sports leagues soared 17.5% to more than $6.7B combined
- 550 new brands burst onto the red-hot NIL scene in the last year
- Youth initiative causes have become a key option for brands, comprising more than 25% of all community and cause-related assets
- Pat McAfee and the Kelce brothers represent different strategies that are shaping the future of sports media
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Methodology:
This report, jointly authored by SponsorUnited's Marketing Research & Insights and Marketing Department, presents an extensive analysis of over 82,000 brands, 160,000 sponsorship deals, and 75,000 branded social posts within sports leagues, teams, music entities, media platforms, athletes, influencers, and celebrities monitored by SponsorUnited. The data was sourced from SponsorUnited's proprietary platform and covers the period from January 1, 2022, through October 15, 2023.
Social media data was obtained from branded posts across tracked athlete, influencer, celebrity and music artist accounts across Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, and Facebook, from January 1, 2023, through October 16, 2023.
About SponsorUnited:
Launched in 2018, SponsorUnited is the leading global sports and entertainment intelligence platform, delivering actionable data and insights to build stronger marketing partnerships. We provide unrivaled knowledge across the sponsorship and media landscape so our clients can make impactful decisions that drive business.
With over 330,000 brands, 1.6 million deals, and 11.4 million data points across sports, entertainment, media, and talent, our SaaS database enables brands, rights holders, and agencies to partner more effectively. By delivering real-time trends, on-demand research, and the most comprehensive data available, we connect the entire sponsorship ecosystem and are rewriting the partnership playbook.
