A Groundbreaking Era in Women’s Sports
What were the highlights for women’s sports in 2023?
2023 marked a profitable year for women’s sports in sponsorships, brand deals, and TV broadcast partnerships. Along with 2023 being a FIFA Women’s World Cup year, some of the other major women’s sporting events included the US Open, NWSL Championship, WNBA Finals, NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, and more. 2023 was a year of broken records and major strides in the growth of women’s sports.
According to a Deloitte study, in 2024, women’s elite sports are estimated to generate more than $1 billion in revenue - a 300% increase from their 2021 prediction. They also predicted that the largest markets would be North America - valued at $670 million and Europe - valued at $181 million. Deloitte projects that the two most valuable sports will be women’s soccer at $555 million and basketball at $354 million. According to Trajektory’s Agency platform, the NWSL brought in more than $23M in social value across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter in 2023. Also proving the value in women’s soccer, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup set a new tournament record for attendance with 1,977,824 fans across the tournament. The tournament set new records for viewership and demonstrated how women’s sports are on the rise not only in North America but also globally.
Over the course of 2023, there were some major broadcast milestones in women’s sports. In March, Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes faced off against the LSU Tigers in the Women’s Basketball National Championship game. The game’s 9.9 million viewers broke a tournament record as well as setting the record for any women’s college basketball game in history. After this success, the NCAA recently signed an 8-year $920 million deal that includes the Women’s March Madness Tournament which is valued at $65 million in the deal. The NWSL also recently signed a major broadcast deal for 4-years at $240 million with CBS, ESPN, Prime Video, and Scripps Sports. This is a major step up from the league’s current $1.5 million per year contract with CBS. In September, Coco Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka at the US Open to win her first Major singles title. The match set a new viewership record with 3.4 million people tuning in on ESPN - more than a million more viewers than the men’s final where Novak Djokovic took home his 24th Grand Slam singles title (a modern Grand Slam record). She was the first American teen to win since Serena Williams won in 1999. This shows the growth that women’s sports have seen in the recent years and will likely continue on this trajectory.
We didn’t just see people watching women’s sports, but they were also attending women’s sports in masses. In August, the Nebraska women’s volleyball team set a world record for attendance at a women’s sporting event with 92,003 fans attending the match between five-time NCAA champions Nebraska and Omaha. This broke the previous record set at a Champions League match between FC Barcelona and Wolfsburg where there were 91,648 fans in attendance. In October, Iowa women’s basketball hosted an outdoor exhibition game at Kinnick Stadium against DePaul. There were 55,646 fans in attendance which set the record for the highest single-game attendance in NCAA women’s basketball history.
Where are women’s sports headed in 2024?
The profitability of women's sports sponsorships in 2023 marked a transformative moment in the sports industry. The combination of increased popularity, inclusive marketing, inspiring athletes, digital engagement, and strategic partnerships propelled women's sports to new heights. As we look towards the future, it's evident that the investment in women's sports is not only financially lucrative but also contributes to fostering a more equitable and inclusive sports landscape.
This year kicked off with the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s (PWHL) inaugural season. The first game between Toronto and New York at Mattamy Athletic Centre had 2.9 million viewers across Canada. At the end of the first week of play, Minnesota took on Montreal at Xcel Energy Center where there was a record crowd of 13,316 fans. This was the highest attendance for a professional women’s hockey game ever - a strong start for a new women’s league that will hopefully be foreshadowing the future of the league.
With a new major league introduced in 2024, major broadcast deals being signed, and viewership and attendance on the rise, the future of women’s sports looks exciting. As mentioned previously, women’s sports revenue is expected to exceed the $1 billion mark this year - a benchmark that has never been reached before. The momentum and popularity continue to grow as time goes on, leading to increased investments and valuations for women’s sports. Expansion teams will also be introduced to the Bay Area in California for both the WNBA and NWSL in the near future. The NWSL is also exploring other markets for additional expansion teams, something that would not have been feasible several years ago. This is an exciting era for women’s sports and goes to show just how valuable the market for women’s sports can be for brands, teams, and investors.
Where does Trajektory come in?
With women’s sports on the rise, it is increasingly important for teams and brands to have accurate tracking methods for sponsorships. Trajektory is the premiere sponsorship analytics vendor on the market. We make it easy to keep track of all of your brands, properties, and assets in one simple, user-friendly platform. We help teams keep track of valuations for stanchions, on-court ads, field board ads, social, TV broadcast, LEDs, static signage, shoes, jerseys, and more. Our platform allows you to pinpoint top (and bottom) performing assets so you can report valuations and performance back to your brands at any point during the season and adjust strategies accordingly.
Not only can the Trajektory platform let you view your teams’ sponsorship assets and performance, but you can also compare and track the performance of other teams and brands. This allows you to benchmark performance across all assets to see where your team’s valuations stand in comparison to other teams within your league or outside of it. With Trajektory, teams can ensure they can provide accurate valuations for their brands and agencies for full sponsorship transparency.
Interested in learning more? Get a demo at Trajektory.com/demo
