Brands
The 2025 Sports Marketing Guide
Report summary
Outside of the presidential election, sports dominated 2024. Run clubs were hailed as the new dating apps, the WNBA was the year’s fastest-growing brand, the Paris Olympics captured record viewership numbers — the list goes on.
And while league and athlete sponsorships have always been a sought-after marketing medium, consumers’ declining desire to hear from companies on social and political matters makes them even more so.
This report, which focuses on sports fandom at the professional level, offers insights into how brands can tie their messaging to the enthusiasm around athletics and use this prevailing mood to inform resonant styles, products and content. After all, the goal of most brand marketing is cultural relevance, and right now, sports and athletes are about as culturally relevant as it gets.
Key Takeaways
- Sports is a great unifier amid polarization: Half of U.S. adults consider themselves avid sports fans, and even more (60%) report a general interest in athletics.
- The women’s sports hype is real: The WNBA is now more popular than some men’s leagues. Plus, women’s sports fans are young, diverse and uber-engaged.
- Sports content thrives across mediums: Whether on a TV screen or an iPhone, sports-related content — especially sports highlights — commands attention.
- Sports are becoming a social life staple: The share of Americans who regularly attend live sporting events has steadily risen in recent years.
- The athlete-influencer era is here: Americans find athletes nearly twice as likable as social media influencers, and athletes are taking advantage of it.
Data Downloads
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Highlights from this report
After consistently ranking well below all men’s professional sports leagues, the WNBA’s year of rapid growth in 2024 has turned roughly 1 in 4 (26%) U.S. adults into either avid or casual fans, putting it firmly ahead of both the MLS (23%) and the PGA (21%). That said, men’s leagues still largely dominate American sports fandom.
The WNBA is now one of the top five most popular major sports leagues
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Methodology
The research featured throughout this report draws from multiple sources:
- A survey fielded December 16-19, 2024 among a representative sample of 2,202 U.S. adults. This includes 1,052 U.S. adults who identify as “avid” fans of at least one of 12 tested professional sports leagues (men’s or women’s) and 315 U.S. adults who identify as “avid” fans of at least one of six tested women’s professional sports leagues. The unweighted margins of error are +/- 2, +/-3 and +/-6 percentage points, respectively.
- Morning Consult Intelligence, a platform that helps you understand your audience, brand, competitors and market in a way traditional research companies can’t. The surveys that make up this dataset were conducted between January 2023 and December 2024. Learn more here.
About the author
Ellyn Briggs is a brands analyst on the Industry Intelligence team, where she conducts research, authors analyst notes and advises brand and marketing leaders on how to apply insights to make better business decisions. Prior to joining Morning Consult, Ellyn worked as a market researcher and brand strategist in both agency and in-house settings. She graduated from American University with a bachelor’s degree in finance. For speaking opportunities and booking requests, please email [email protected].
