Sports Sponsorships Still Top Pick
The four major U.S. pro sports leagues and teams are on track to post a 7.9% increase in sponsorship revenue in 2011. As an indicator of the interest in sports sponsorships, that increase outpaces last year’s 7.6% increase for sports, as well as the projected 6.1% for the entire sports category and the 5.9% increase for the overall sponsorship industry, according to IEG Sponsorship Report.
“Corporate interest in professional sports remains high despite the turbulent economy,” said William Chipps, IEG SR’s senior editor. "A lot of that is driven by that tremendous fan passion that companies want to tap into. People love their favorite sports team.
As an example, the National Basketball Association has reportedly replaced its partnership with T-Mobile USA, Inc. with a new four-year $45 million deal with Sprint Nextel Corp. The partnership—valued at roughly $250 million represents one of the league’s largest deals.
In addition, the National Hockey League earlier this year replaced its deal with Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV with a seven-year, estimated $400 million sponsorship from Molson Coors Canada and MillerCoors, LLC. The deal is the largest in the league’s history and allows the beer brands to engage fans through NHL media assets NHL.com, NHL Network, NHL Mobile and NHL Social.
And, on the football field, the National Football League last year replaced MillerCoors’ Coors Light with a new partnership with Anheuser-Busch beginning with the 2011 season. The deal is reportedly valued at double what MillerCoors was paying. A-B kicked off the deal in April with the Bud Light “Best Round Ever” consumer contest, which offered a $10 million grand prize to the fan who predicted the first round of the Draft. On site at Radio City Music Hall, where the Draft was Bud Light converted the mezzanine level into the Bud Light Fan Zone, an exclusive hospitality area for 700 fans. Tickets could be had through local promotions in the New York metropolitan area. On Facebook, other promotions are underway, including the chance to win prizes through the “Bud Light Huddle!”
Both the National Football League and the National Hockey League are expected to show the largest increase in spending, with the organizations and their member teams rising 8.7% to $946 million and 8.9% to $356 million, respectively. Major League Baseball follows (up 6.8 percent to $585 million) and the National Basketball Association (up 6.3% to $572 million).
In addition to Anheuser-Busch, the National Football League has brought on a handful of other sponsors for the 2011 season. Those include Bose Corp.; Marriott; USAA; and BP Lubricants. On the baseball front, Bayer Corp. this year expanded a three-year-old Major League Baseball partnership with a new deal on behalf of Bayer Advance Aspirin. The company has sponsored the league since 2008 on behalf of One A Day vitamins.
Total sponsorship spending is expected to total $2.46 billion, up from $2.28 billion in 2010.
