Sponsor United Releases Data-Intensive NIL Report

Sponsor United released its 2023-2024 “Name, Image, and Likeness Marketing Partnerships” report on March 20, 2024. Here are three takeaways from the report.

The gender gap between male and female athletes is more equitable in sports sponsorship than when the deal comes from a collective. According to Sponsor United, 57% of deals go to male athletes and 43% to female counterparts. This contrasts with collectives, which give 66% of their deals to male athletes, according to a 2023 Opendorse report (Sports Business Journal). Despite this gender gap, female athletes average 3.5 NIL deals to 2.5 for men (Sponsor United).

Brands and athletes can fill a gap regarding the longevity of their deals when they become professional athletes. According to Sponsor United, less than 15% of college NIL deals are renewed when athletes compete in their first professional season. That number decreases to 1% when an athlete enters the second year of their pro career. Given these low numbers, this is an improvement point for athletes and brands. Athletes can work with their team to ensure that the quality of their brand deliverables remains high and that they negotiate for the long term. 

Sponsor United names heavily repetitive deals and underutilized sectors for athletes to explore. Like any other industry, NIL features a lot of repetition as athletes learn patterns to succeed. For example, 60% of cosmetics and skin care deals go to female athletes, and 75% of web/app (sports & games) deals go to male athletes (Sponsor United). However, Sponsor United named four underutilized categories for brand deals that college athletes can explore. They named car manufacturers and luxury food products for male athletes and motion pictures & studios and hotels and resorts for female athletes. 

To read more about Sponsor United's data deep dive, visit their NIL Marketing Partnerships 2023–24 page HERE.