Today we discuss the trends in sponsorship for women's sports and why it’s important that brands are sponsoring female athletes. Women's sports have traditionally been a secondary consideration in the dominant male-centered sports market. This trend is changing, however, thanks to the success of individual female athletes in tennis and golf, team sports such as the US soccer team and the performance by female athletes in the Olympics. Female participation is also growing thanks to college scholarships, and the growing trend of girls wanting to be fit and healthy. Brands and Marketers are now starting to recognize the increasing value of sponsoring female athletes.

Giving some examples, let's take a look at Maria Sharapova, a Russian professional tennis player who has won 29 WTA singles titles including four Grand Slam singles titles. Her endorsement deals with big brands such as Nike, Porsche, and Head, led to her being the world's highest-earning female athlete for many years. Alex Morgan, an US soccer player who won the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, claims big endorsement deals worth $3 million per year from Nike and Coca Cola.  Thanks to platforms like OpenSponsorship, and to the increase of social media and influencer marketing, brands are not only sponsoring female athletes who are the top 1%, but also more Niche or Regionally, rather than Internationally, recognized athletes. Let's take a deeper look into why brands should be sponsoring female athletes:

  1. Female brands need to be using diversified role models

We have seen how big brands have been penalized for only using size 0 models, or only Caucasian faces. Why therefore should brands not be showing all types of female influencers, rather than just models or TV celebrities? Given that 2 out of every 5 girls at High School play sports - 3.2 million girls - brands should be using pro female athletes to connect with these sporty high school girls. Athletes train up to 40 hours a week. Their dedication, teamwork and skill-sets make them the perfect brand ambassador to companies looking to portray good values.

  1. Female athletes are Real People with Amazing Stories.

Female athletes have kids, have pets, eat/sleep/drive and everything else that we do. Once they get off the field and winning podium, they have real lives with amazing stories. Serena Williams, an American professional tennis player who’s ranked world No. 1 in singles from 2002 to 2017 by WTA, won the woman’s title at the Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant. This is a perfect example that proves female athletes are relatable yet brilliant models for customers and brands.

OpenSponsorship helps brands connect and sponsorship these amazing female athletes. 20% our athlete roster is female and we are very passionate about increasing this. If brands ignore female athletes, they are ignoring a huge part of the US population and true influential trailblazers. Login today to find and sponsor female athletes such as Bethany HamiltonJordyn Wieber, and Charissa Thompson.