Why brands are flocking to women’s sports

While wage gaps between male and female athletes generally persist, brand deals are leveling the playing field.

This year, deals for female leagues and teams were up 21%, while deals with athletes were up 18%, per SponsorUnited.

One reason?

Female athletes are proving they can engage an audience better than their male counterparts.

• In professional tennis, women players engaged 53m followers with branded posts, compared to 38.5m for men.
• In college sports, women athletes generated 4x the engagement of men with less than half as many brand partnerships.

Financial, apparel, and non-alcoholic beverage companies signed the most deals, and it’s likely only a matter of time before other sectors get in on the action.