2024’s sporting highlights include the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, The European Championships in soccer and Super Bowl LVIII. Here, Ian Hart, senior digital editor U.K. and EMEA, License Global, highlights some of the most impactful licensing collaborations hitting the target in 2024.
Sports is always big business and goes hand in hand with brand licensing. According to Statista, the global sports apparel market is expected to reach $294 billion in 2030, up from an estimated $213 billion in 2023. In License Global’s Top Global Licensors Report, 14.8% of respondents cited Sporing and Outdoor Goods as the most significant growth opportunity for licensed consumer products in 2024/25.
One area where we have seen significant continued growth, is around women’s sports. License Global’s cover story in August focussed on OneTeam Partners, a global sports licensing, marketing, sponsorship and media company representing the commercial interests of professional and collegiate athletes and highlighted some of the licensing opportunities women’s sports present.
“Investing in women’s sports is about more than just what women’s sports is now – it’s investing in what women’s sports are becoming,” Meghann Burke, executive director, National Women’s Soccer League Players Association told License Global in the story. “Women’s sports are now a part of mainstream culture, and the licensing industry needs to catch up.”
What are some of the most successful sports licensing deals in 2024?
Here are License Global’s picks for some of the most exciting sports licensing collaborations of the year.
Taylor Swift and the Super Bowl
The money-making machine that is Taylor Swift and her appearance at Super Bowl LVIII, which featured San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs and took place at Allegiant Stadium, in Las Vegas, Nevada in February, took the world, football fans and non-football fans by storm.
The singer’s relationship with Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs tight end, went public in September 2023 and, as McKenna Morgan, content editor, License Global, discovered in her article on how celebrity shifts fandom, NFL viewership increased among teenage girls by 53%, and among the 18-24 age demographic there was an increase of 24%. Apex Marketing says Swift’s tangential involvement with the NFL generated an additional $331.5 million in brand value for the NFL and the Chiefs.
As a result of the influx of interest, after Swift attended her first Chiefs game, Fanatics, a manufacturer and retailer of licensed sports gear, reported a 400% increase in Travis Kelce merchandise.
Manchester City Embracing Music and Video Games
As we’ve already discovered, the worlds of music and sport can be incredibly powerful when they collide. Manchester City Football Club have won an unprecedented four consecutive English Premier League titles and stepped into licensing in a big way this year.
Shortly after British rock band, Oasis, announced it was reuniting for a new world tour, and to mark the 30th anniversary of its iconic “Definitely Maybe” album, City worked with kit manufacturer, PUMA to launch its “Definitely City” kit, which was co-designed by musician and lifelong City fan, Noel Gallagher. Such was the furore around the band at the time, the kit launch day saw one of City’s highest day of sales revenue ever.
The club also included a special Fortnite integration into its ‘24/’25 home kit. In a first-of-its-kind campaign, some of the most popular creator-led games on the Fortnite platform were identified and integrated limited-time kit reveal experiences into their lobbies.
The Rise of Pickleball and Brand Licensing
According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the racket sport has grown over 170% in the past four years. With that much enthusiasm for a sport, there’s undoubtedly money to be made.
Rally Republic, the first California-inspired lifestyle brand explicitly created for pickleball enthusiasts, secured official licensing from most major U.S. colleges and universities, sororities and fraternities, enabling pickleball players to showcase their college or sports team while on the court. Rally Republic is also one of the only pickleball paddle manufacturers whose carbon paddles are licensed and approved by the U.S.A. Pickleball Association.
In April, Target announced a limited-time pickleball collection in partnership with tennis and lifestyle brand, Prince. The outfits included skirts and retro-inspired tracksuits to match sporting goods like paddles, pickleballs and duffels.
Licensed Trading Card Games and Sports
When License Global walked the floors of the 73rd Spielwarenmesse in Nuremberg, Germany, in January, one of the themes that stood out was the resurgence of trading card games. Upper Deck, The Topps Company and Panini, all key players in this space, have marked 2024 with some interesting licensing collaborations.
Upper Deck announces NIL trading cards for college athletes, with the collectibles company working with The Brandr Group and CLC to produce autographed trading cards of student-athletes from a diverse range of colleges and sports. It also extended its trading card license with NHL Alumni, with rights expanded to include Authentic Digital Collectible Trading Cards available on the patent-pending platform, Evolution, and dropped new Golf Trading Cards, featuring current and rising golf stars.
The Topps Company announced deals across a wide array of sports, including that it would become Team GB’s official licensee of trading cards and stickers, the launch Match Attax UEFA Club Competitions Football Cards, that it would make a return to UFC with an exclusive multiyear trading card partnership and announcing a long-term renewal of its Formula 1 partnership, that would see it continue to produce trading card and sticker ranges featuring drivers from the current season of F1, F2 and F3.
Last but not least, Panini announced the launch of 2024 Premier League Adrenalyn Xl Trading Cards and Panini America announced a multiyear partnership with The Brandr Group.
The Paris 2024 Olympics and Brand Licensing
For many, the Olympic and Paralympic Games is the sporting event. After COVID hit the 2020 Tokyo Games, which was postponed and eventually took place in front of restricted crowds in 2021, the Games made a highly anticipated return in Paris this year. With the International Olympic Committee (IOC) dedicating a page of its site to licensing, it’s no surprise that the global event made for big business.
Stand-out deals include the aforementioned Team GB Topps deal, Warner Bros. dropping Looney Tunes Team USA apparel, PetSmart, the pet retailer for Team USA, released a collection of Team USA dog toys and apparel, Anti Social Social Club (ASSC) announced the drop of its summer 2024 major collection, which included ASSC’s Paris 2024 Olympics capsule and Samsung announced it had chosen Bare Tree Media to design the official Team France mobile theme for the Summer Olympics.
Source: https://www.licenseglobal.com/sports/editors-choice-the-sports-licensing-deals-scoring-big-in-2024