SBJ Women’s Sports: Shifting the Gears of Growth - Exhaustive Industry Report

The Death of Skepticism: By the start of $2026$ , the industry consensus has shifted to view women's sports as a definitive and lucrative business opportunity, effectively ending the period of persistent skepticism regarding return on investment (ROI).
Market Growth Indicators: * Deloitte and McKinsey Research: Both organizations conducted studies in $2025$ highlighting the expansion of women's sports into a multibillion-dollar industry. * Sponsorship Trends: According to SponsorUnited, team sponsorships for the WNBA and NWSL have seen significant increases. * Fortune 500 Engagement: Research from Gather indicates that the number of Fortune 500 companies sponsoring women’s sports has doubled within a single year.
Organizational Perspectives: * Risa Isard (Director of Research and Insights at Parity): States that women’s sports is a "demand-driven business" that is "booming," with no indicators of it slowing down. * Alyson Walker (SVP of Strategy and Growth at The Collective): Emphasizes the need for continued education, noting that even within the sports and media industry, many professionals are not yet fully aware of modern advancements in women's sports business cases. * Thayer Lavielle (Managing Director at The Collective): Notes that while traditional pillars like viewership and merchandise remain vital, new pillars—specifically the influence of individual athletes—are rising in importance.

Distinct Audience Profiles: Adapting men’s sports marketing strategies to women’s sports is considered a "fool’s errand" because the fan base is a distinct group with unique behaviors.
Consumption Patterns: The Collective found that fans of women's sports often consume content alone or with only one other person.
Gender and Avidness: Research by McKinsey shows: * Men make up the majority of women’s sports fans at a rate of $63\%$ . * However, women identify as "avid fans" at a higher rate ( $42\%\text{ vs. }33\%$ for men).
Generational Trends (Gen Z): * Gen Z fans are $35\%$ more likely than other generations to state that sponsorships in women's sports make them more likely to purchase from a brand. * Risa Isard notes that unlike most consumers who avoid advertising, women’s sports fans actively desire more brand investment and advertising.

General Trust: A report by Parity shows that $68\%$ of all sports fans trust that women athletes genuinely believe in the products they promote.
Non-Viewer Trust: Even among people who never watch women’s sports, $58\%$ express faith in the athletes' endorsements.
Specific Sport Trust: Trust levels reach as high as $78\%$ among women’s soccer fans.
NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) Growth: Opendorse found that NIL growth rates are higher in women’s sports compared to men’s sports.
The Athlete-Entrepreneur Ecosystem: Current and former athletes are increasingly launching clothing lines, shoe lines, media companies, and investment funds within the women's sports sector.

Fan Identity: A major finding by Parity is that fans often identify as fans of "women’s sports" as a category before they identify with a specific team or league.
Sports Science Gap: Only $6\%$ of sports science research currently focuses on women athletes. Efforts to address this include: * Michele Kang: Leading efforts to prioritize women-specific sports research. * Gatorade: Conducting studies on the sweat of women athletes.
College Sports and Title IX: Research is pivoting to the impacts of the House settlement, as women’s sports and Title IX support may face threats regarding school decisions on participation and sponsorship.
Upcoming Reports: Parity is scheduled to release a report focusing on the sponsorship of Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

The Revenue Stare-Down: The WNBA and the player's union (WNBPA) are in a dispute regarding revenue sharing.
Strike Threshold: There is a deadline of February $1$ for the league to accept the union's request for a $30\%$ split of the revenue. If not met, the risk of a player strike increases significantly.
Leverage Points: * Player Leverage: Players have alternative income sources in leagues such as Unrivaled, Athletes Unlimited, and the upcoming Project B. * League Leverage: The NBA—which oversees the WNBA—can theoretically sustain itself for months or a year without WNBA revenue.
Public and Institutional Sentiment: WNBA players reportedly have public sentiment on their side and have already authorized a strike. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is reportedly incentivized to avoid a strike to maintain the league's momentum and avoid the perception of suppressing underpaid athletes.

Shift in Investor Sophistication: Chris Smith (SBJ Finance columnist) identifies a move away from "broad brush" investing toward a more nuanced understanding of different leagues' business models.
Asset Class Stratification: Maddie Winslow of Inner Circle Sports notes that the NWSL and WNBA are now viewed as a separate, more established asset class compared to earlier-stage properties.
Specific Market Valuations: * New York Liberty (WNBA): Sold a minority stake at a valuation of $\$450 \text{ million}$ . * WNBA Expansion Teams: Units in Detroit, Philadelphia, and Cleveland were acquired for $\$250 \text{ million}$ each. * NWSL Expansion Teams: Recently sold teams in Denver for $\$110 \text{ million}$ and Atlanta for $\$165 \text{ million}$ . * LOVB (League One Volleyball): Startup league seeking approximately $\$20 \text{ million}$ per expansion team for its three recently sold units.

NWSL / Orlando Pride: Julianne Jochym promoted to VP of Strategy and Analytics from Senior Director.
World Sevens Football: Claire Bloomfield appointed as Chief of Football Affairs and Governance (formerly of European Club Association).
LPGA: * Chad Coleman hired as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), formerly of Dude Perfect. * Monica Fee (formerly of LIV) joined as Chief of Sales and Partnerships Officer on January $5$ . * Brian Carroll, EVP of Global Media and Production, resigned after a tenure starting in $2010$ .
Ladies European Tour: Tom Phillips named CEO, replacing Alexandra Armas.
KC Current (NWSL): Alexa Brooks hired as Integrated Marketing Manager.

WTGL (Women's TGL): TMRW Sports and the LPGA partnered to create a women's version of the TGL golf league starting next winter. Alex Morgan’s "Trybe Ventures" is the lead capital investor.
Project B: A global, F1-style touring basketball league signed Japanese guard Mai Yamamoto.
Sponsorships: Athletic Brewing Company became the official nonalcoholic beer sponsor for the $2026$ LOVB Pro season.
Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL): Commissioner Kim Ng announced permanent cities and venues for the league's second year, moving away from the barnstorming model.
PWHL (Professional Women's Hockey League): * Attendance Records: A new U.S. record for women’s hockey was set in D.C. with $17,228$ fans (Montreal Victoire vs. N.Y. Sirens). * Takeover Tour: Recent games saw $10,400$ fans in Halifax. * Venue Milestones: The N.Y. Sirens will host a home game at Madison Square Garden on April $4$ . * Expansion: Detroit is being considered for expansion based on strong performance in the Takeover Tour.