Power Five Schools Net $557M in Sponsorship Revenues Allocated for Football

The SEC attracted more than 27% of the total sponsorship revenue this season

The Power Five football teams (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12 and the SEC) earned $557M in sponsorship revenues for the 2022-2023 season. On average, each school yielded $8.6M in sponsorship revenue during the football season.

The top five teams in terms of sponsorship revenue within the Power Five are, in no particular order, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Texas and Ohio State. The SEC (led by Alabama, Georgia and LSU) was the top conference in revenues ($156M), accounting for over 27% of total football sponsorship money spent across the 65 Power Five schools.

The categories with the most number of sponsorship deals include:

1. Banks

1. Restaurants

1. Insurance

1. Soft Drink

1. Hotels/Resorts

The top 10 brands with the highest number of sponsorship deals include:

1. Allstate

1. Coca-Cola

1. Nike

1. Old Dominion

1. Nissan

1. Stubhub

1. Ford

1. Jersey Mike’s

1. Pepsi

1. Toyota

"College football provides one of the few places in sports where local and national brand partnerships converge," said Bob Lynch, founder and CEO of SponsorUnited. "In this sport, brands are able to leverage highly-relevant, multi-channel platforms–such as TV-visible signage for national broadcasts and local community events–to reach passionate fans and alumni."

With the end of the year quickly approaching, that means it's College Bowl time. 41 bowl games were announced over the weekend and will kick off mid-December. Some bowl games have histories that span decades while others have stories that are just beginning.

The Capital One Orange Bowl | Tennessee (6) vs. Clemson (10)

Capital One has been the title sponsor of the Orange Bowl since 2014. 6% of Capital One’s 560+ deals are with Division 1 Bowls, Tourneys & Championship. While they are the title sponsor of the Orange Bowl, they also have sponsorships with other college bowls like The Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Allstate Sugar Bowl to name a few.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl | Alabama (5) vs. Kansas State (11)

The Sugar Bowl, along with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl, are the second-oldest bowl games in the country. Allstate has been the title sponsor since 2007 and is currently the brand’s largest partnership. Close to 100 brands are buying sponsorships and media with the Sugar Bowl. No category dominates the bowl’s partnership portfolio, the top three categories- media, QSR and Auto- make up less than 30% combined.

The Rose Bowl | Utah (8) vs. Penn State (11)

"The Granddaddy of Them All" aka The Rose Bowl oldest operating college football bowl game. Capital One has been a presenting sponsor (not the title sponsor) of the previous two Rose Bowl’s. This year’s presenting sponsor will be Northwestern Mutual .

Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel | Fresno State vs. Washington State

Since The Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl’s inaugural season in 2021, the bowl has partnerships with 59 brands including 9 Auto brands- the largest category sponsor for the bowl- inclusive of Toyota. This bowl is 1 of Toyota’s 30 college bowl deals while it’s Stifel’s one and only college bowl partnership.

Cheez-It Bowl | Florida State (13) vs. Oklahoma

The Cheez-It Bowl, formerly known as the Camping World Bowl (2017-19), the Russell Athletic Bowl (2012-16), the Champs Sports Bowl (2004-11), has undergone several title sponsors since 1990. Cheez-It has partnered with 25 other bowl games in various capacities over the years. 25% of Cheez-It’s 110+ deals are with Division 1 Bowl games.

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Alex Morgan is the Most Endorsed Female Athlete of 2022

Brand deals across women’s sports have increased 20% year-over-year

SponsorUnited's inaugural Women In Sports 2022 report analyzes brand partnerships for both collegiate and professional sports across teams and individual athletes.

The report found that 3,500 brands bought a total of 5,650 sponsorships or media across 14 professional women’s leagues and collegiate NIL athletes. It also revealed that 1,110 brands bought a total of 2,185 sponsorships or media across individual professional and college female athletes.

“While women’s sports have always faced a variety of disparities in the industry, their ability to win over audiences and drive an exceptionally high level of engagement for brands is undeniable,” said Bob Lynch, CEO and founder of SponsorUnited. “In recent years, attendance, viewership and social engagement for women’s sports and athletes has spiked, leading to long-overdue financial backing through investments and sponsorships that are visibly paying off and should only continue to accelerate.”

Key findings include:

Alex Morgan is the most endorsed female athlete of the yearThe National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) player scored 27 brand deals in 2022, which is more deals than any NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS or NHL athlete. Morgan leapfrogged over Ali Krieger, Serena Williams and Naomi Oasaka, the top three most endorsed female athletes in 2021. She has partnerships with Coca-Cola, Google, Chipotle, Michelob Ultra and AT&T, among others.

Partnership deals across women’s sports have increased 20% year-over-yearSponsorships with women grew 20% year-over-year across the major US sports (LPGA, NWSL, WNBA, WTA), top European soccer leagues (Women’s Super League and Liga F), and Big Bash League, AFL, NRL Telstra Premiership, Netball Superleague, Suncorp Super Netball and World Netball. Finance brands–which are already the most active sponsorship category among women’s sports–upped their sponsorship game by 30%, followed by Apparel & Accessories and Media to round out the top-three brand verticals.

Women’s golf outnumbers all other women’s sports for brand dealsWith 940 brand deals in 2022, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) saw a 30% increase in deals from the previous year and an 18% increase in new brand partnerships. Notable partnerships include Coca-Cola, Rolex and Epson. The LPGA held a 17-deal lead over the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), which had 923 deals in 2022, followed by the National Women’s Soccer League, which had 496 deals.

Nike is the #1 sponsor for both professional and collegiate sportsNike has sponsorships with the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), NWSL, Women’s Big Bash League (Cricket), Netball and the LPGA, and with more than 60 athletes. Nike also sponsors five collegiate athletes and partners with 68 colleges. Trailing Nike is Adidas, the second top brand partner for both professional and collegiate sports.

While many brands are singling out top players to partner with, some are casting a wider net–like Hooters, which in August signed 51 offensive linemen from 10 top college football programs.

And although brands are integrating college athletes into their marketing in various ways, social media remains the top go-to tactic for them all–utilized in over 90% of NIL partnerships.

Following is a snapshot of social engagement garnered by these deals (which average 2 posts per partnership) across college sports through August 2022. Top deals are ranked by average engagement per post, with a minimum of 3 posts.

College Football

A perennial fan favorite, college football’s NIL deals number 598 and include 1,235 posts. Total engagement across all posts was 2.7M, averaging 4,564 per deal, while average engagement per post was 1,618, with 4.17% of followers engaging.

Top deals:

1. Braden Galloway (Athletic Brewing Company): 22,875

1. Shedeur Sanders (Beats by Dre): 11,244

1. Bryce Young (Cash App): 8,490

1. Bryce Young (Logans Roadhouse): 6,870

1. Bryce Young (Subway): 5,873

Gymnastics

Despite having just 52 deals with a collective 88 posts, women’s gymnastics trumps all other college sports by social engagement, with a whopping 19M across all posts, averaging 224,327 per deal. Average engagement per post was 74,776, with 5.48% of followers engaging.

Top deals:

1. Olivia (Livvy) Dunne (Vuori Clothing): 401,619

1. Olivia (Livvy) Dunne (American Eagle Outfitters): 259,329

1. Olivia (Livvy) Dunne (Bartleby Technologies): 126,714

1. Jordan Chiles (GK Elite): 7,323

1. Elena Arenas (Starface World): 3,688

Men’s Basketball

With a total of 328 deals spanning 635 posts, men’s basketball–another high-profile fan favorite–boasts total social engagement of 3.8M, averaging 11,710 per deal. Per-post engagement averaged 4,198, with 4.54% of followers engaging.

Top deals:

1. Adrien Nunez (Celcius): 31,376

1. Shareef O'Neal (Savage x Fenty): 29,448

1. Deshaun Highler (The GLD Shop): 18,880

1. Deshaun Highler (VKTRY Gear): 12,778

1. Jimmy Sotos (Celcius): 8,244

Women’s Basketball

At 5.4M, women’s college basketball’s total social engagement is second only to women’s gymnastics–averaging 23,163 per deal, with 234 total deals spanning 430 posts. Average engagement per post was 8,828, with 4.51% of followers engaging.

Top deals:

1. Hanna Cavinder (PSD Underwear): 138,537

1. Casey Ferguson (Wingstop): 76,540

1. Jada Williams (GymShark): 49,610

1. Zia Cooke (H&R Block): 40,050

1. Jada Williams (Spalding): 20,764

Baseball

Though baseball’s storied standing as one of America’s all-time favorite sports is undeniable, its following at the college level–on social media, at least–pales in comparison to others’. With 52 deals encompassing 92 posts, total engagement was just 161,000, averaging 3,100 per deal. That said, its social followers–though few in number–are devoted: per-post engagement averaged 1,119, with a whopping 9.79% of followers engaging.

Top deals:

1. Tim Elko (Raising Cane’s): 5,381

1. Landon Sims (J. Parkerson Jewelers): 1,753

1. Cayden Wallace (Academy Sports + Outdoors): 1,507

1. Taylor Young (Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys): 542

1. Steele Netterville (Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys): 356

Softball

With 83 deals encompassing 159 posts, softball’s total engagement was 1M, averaging 12,427 per deal. Average engagement per post was 4,352, with 5.17% of followers engaging.

Top deals:

1. Lauren Burke (REVOLVE (Eminent): 12,736

1. Montana Fouts (H&R Block): 5,614

1. Jayda Coleman (Win Reality): 2,133

1. Baylee Klingler (Outback Steakhouse): 1,176

1. Kaley Mudge (Garnet & Gold): 1,058

More than 1,000 brands have partnered with collegiate athletes in NIL deals over the last 15 months, and that number continues to be on the rise.

Through August 2022, 1,637 NIL partnerships have been inked across college sports, which collectively include 3,381 social posts. Engagement across all deals stood at 34M– averaging 20,839 per deal–while average engagement per post numbered 7,069, with 5.14% of followers engaging.

Here’s a breakdown of the top 5 industry categories in the NIL space by number of deals, with a quick look at their respective leading players.

Apparel & Accessories

• The Players Trunk : 60% of the brand’s overall NIL partnerships are with men’s college basketball athletes.

• Adidas: The brand has NIL deals with athletes in 8 sports, while 51% of its NIL partnerships are with female athletes (21% women’s soccer; 15% softball; 15% women’s volleyball).

• American Eagle Outfitters: 46% of American Eagle Outfitters’ NIL partnerships are with college football athletes–30% of whom play for Ohio State. LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne’s 9 American Eagle Outfitters posts have racked up a total engagement of 2,333,957 so far.

Technology

• Players’ Lounge: 91% of the gaming brand’s overall partnerships are with college athletes, of which 79% are football players.

• Epic Games: College football players comprise 54% of the brand’s NIL partnerships are with football athletes. While female basketball players only account for 13% of its deals, University of Oregon’s Sedona Prince tops Epic’s partner list for highest total social engagement (25,489) and average engagement per post (12,745).

• Mercury NFT: 68% of the brand’s overall partnerships are with college athletes: 62% in men’s Basketball and 6% in football.

Quick Serve Restaurants (QSR)

• Raising Cane’s: While 42% of the chicken finger specialist’s NIL partnerships are with football athletes, the brand is the only QSR that has a partnership with a (female) wrestler–Marlee Smith (Arizona State). Football player Stetson Bennet boasts the brand’s highest total and average engagement, at 46,964 and 23,482, respectively.

• Krystal: 59% of the Georgia-based burger maker’s overall partnerships are with college athletes (37% football; 12% men’s basketball; 10% women’s basketball). Georgia women’s soccer player Abby Boyan is its one NIL deal outside of football and basketball.

• Bojangles: 27% of the chicken-and-biscuit brand’s NIL partnerships are with female athletes (23% women’s basketball; 5% softball), while 52% are with football players.

Financial

• FTX: 65% of the brand’s NIL partnerships are with football players, while 23% of FTX’s overall partnerships are with college athletes (17% football; 6% men’s basketball). Sacramento State men’s basketball player Deshaun Highler totaled 19 posts for FTX, with a total engagement of 33,233.

• H&R Block: 94% of the tax prep company’s partnerships are with female athletes. South Carolina women’s basketball player Zia Cooke leads its list of athlete endorsers: 5 of her posts for the brand scored total engagement of 200,248 followers.

• Current: 53% of the fintech brand’s NIL partnerships are with football players. Nebraska Women’s volleyball standout Lexi Rodriguez and Arizona State women’s wrestler Marlee Smith boast Current’s top two total engagements on social, at 8,628 and 1,858, respectively.

Non-Alcoholic Beverages

• UPTIME Energy: 44% of the brand’s overall partnerships are with college softball players. It’s 1 of 6 brands (along with Magic Spoon, Champs Sports, DoorDash, DSW, and Met-Rx) to have a partnership with a men’s soccer athlete–Jared Panson of Brandeis University–and 1 of 2 non-alcoholic beverage brands (along with Rowdy Energy) to partner with a lacrosse athlete.

• Simple Truth: 55% of its overall partnerships are with men’s basketball players.

• Six Star Pro Nutrition: 24% of the brand’s total partnerships are with college basketball athletes (16% men’s; 8% women’s). It’s the only non-alcoholic beverage partnered with a (female) golfer: Stanford University’s Rachel Heck.

The top 5 brands by number of deals in the NIL space are:

1. Hooters: 40% of the brand’s overall partnerships are with college football players. One of its notable NIL deals outside the sport is with University of Arkansas golfer John Daly II, son of professional golfer John Daly.

1. Players’ Lounge (see above)

1. FTX (see above)

1. Raising Cane’s (see above)

1. Degree: The deodorant brand has deals with athletes across 11 college sports; 24% of its NIL partnerships are with female athletes.

We are quickly approaching 50 years since Title IX forever changed the game for girls and women in sports. Not only that, but next month marks 1 year for NIL endorsement deals for NCAA. While women in college sports have made strides on the field, they have also had success off with brands seeking their partnership and chance to leverage their social following.

Lauren Burke of the Longhorns might have lost the World Series title, but she’s a winner in terms of number of deals. Burke has 16 deals which leverage her 94KK social following.

Which brands have tagged the Softball star as a new partner?

7-Eleven, CASETify, Mercari & Brumate are a few of the brands leveraging Burke’s social following. Across her social posts each brand has an average engagement of nearly 50K which accounts for over 5% of her total audience. Lauren has 20 branded posts overall which brings the total engagement over 750K.

Female athletes in other college sports have also been able to successfully create partnerships with brands. Hanna Cavinder a Fresno State basketball player, Jordan Chiles a UCLA Gymnast & Brooke Roberts who plays soccer for Arkansa all have 10 or more endorsements. Not a bad stat to have in under a year! Cavinder & Roberts each have over 2M social followers, though Cavinder doubles Roberts following with 4.4M. With such a large following, Cavinder’s brands see an average engagement of nearly 100K. With TikTok being her most used social platform (making up 4M of her total following), 17 of her 22 brand deals have been tagged on TikTok.

Within the women’s college sports landscape, WingStop, H&R Block, Degree, UPTIME Energy & Outback Steakhouse are the top five brands signing female college athletes to deals with each brand having over nine deals. Social Media is the top asset utilized in these deals as 85% of the time the athletes are tagging their brand partners in social media.

State Farm, Nissan, GEICO, and Continental Tire are still alive in the Final Four. These four brands have a sponsorship deal with all of the remaining teams.

Insurance, Auto and Finance have the most assets, this is twice as much as the next category, Healthcare. There are nine insurance brands with deals ties to the remaining four teams, deals in this category are led by State Farm and GEICO. The leading category, Auto, has 10 brands with deals. This category is lead by Continental Tire which has the most total deals.

The four remaining teams, on average, have 28 sponsorship deals per team. Leading the group is the Kansas Jayhawks with 31 deals, followed closely by Villanova with 30. Going head to head in the Final Four are long time rivals Duke and North Carolina. Duke beats UNC in regards to total sponsorships with 28 deals compared to UNC’s 23. The average amongst the rest of the NCAA Schools & Conferences is nine. There are over 2,400 brands buying sponsorships within college basketball across 280+ different schools/conferences. State Farm not only is top for the Final Four, but also across all teams, while GEICO and Nissan each make the top five.

Over 115 brands have taken advantage of signing a men’s college basketball player to a NIL deal since granted access in July 2021. Mercury NFT claims the #1 overall spot with 11 total NIL deals. The brand’s college portfolio includes Dontaie Allen, Keion Brooks Jr., Davion Mintz, Jacob Toppin, TyTy Washington, along with Coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats.

Rounding out the top four spots are Morgan & Morgan (10 deals), FTX (7 deals) and Raising Cane’s (7 deals). 48% of Morgan & Morgan’s total sponsorship deals are with collegiate basketball players while FTX continues to expand their portfolio across numerous colleges and leagues during the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

The technology category has over 30 endorsements within the NIL space with NFT’s accounting for nearly 50% of tech category deals. Ranked by sub-categories in technology, NFT is second after Non-Athletic Apparel/Footwear. Cryptocurrency is 5th as brands lean on the younger generation to promote the blockchain technology that has recently revolutionized the technology industry. Instagram is the most utilized social media platform by these athletes as it beats out Twitter in terms of the number of branded posts.

10 of the Kentucky Wildcat players have landed in the top 30 for NCAA men’s basketball players in terms of NIL endorsement deals. Here is the full list of the top athletes with 5 or more endorsement deals:

Ranked by total sponsorship deals, banking and restaurants/event space lead categories in deals with NCAA Schools & Conferences. These top two categories are the only two categories to have over 500 deals within the NCAA, while banking brands are the clear leaders having over 40% more sponsorship deals than any other category.

The retail category expanded their portfolio with over 100 new deals within the NCAA this year, more new deals than any other category.

PNC Bank led the banking category in total sponsorship deals, followed by US Bank and Wells Fargo. These brands dominated this category each sponsoring almost 50% more NCAA Schools & Conferences than any other brand..

The restaurants / event spaces category was led by Buffalo Wild Wings who was the only brand in the category to have sponsorship deals with 20+ schools. First Watch was the biggest emerging brand in the restaurants/event spaces category signing sponsorship deals with 7 schools in 2021. Currently, 45% of all of First Watch’s sponsorships are with NCAA schools/conferences, including the Kentucky Wildcats and UCF Knights.

It's National Girls & Women in Sports Day and we are highlighting female college athletes who are leading the way in NIL endorsement deals.

Notably, the WWE has signed the Cavinder twins after the two broke into the industry July 1st signing duel NIL deals with Boost Mobile. Boost Mobile and the WWE touted their new endorsers with billboards in New York's famous Times Square. Hayley Cavinder edges out her sister Hanna, having one more deal for a total of 10.

Similar to college football athletes, Raising Cane's also targeted woman college athletes being the second most active brand signing NIL deals with woman in college athletics. Degree is currently the top brand in the space having social posts incorporated into all of their deals, while 80% of all NIL deals include social posts according to SponsorUnited'a data.

On average, every female in college sports with 1 endorsement deal actually has at least 2 deals. Over 100 brands have entered the space in the 6+ months that College NIL deals have been legal. There is still tons of opportunity for partnership growth tied to female college athletes as there's over 475 brands with Men's college athletics deals.

The 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship in Indianapolis aired on ESPN last night. More than 80 brands were visible during the broadcast where the The University of Georgia beat The University of Alabama 33 - 18.

Many familiar brands within the college space leveraged the airtime. AT&T who was seen throughout the game has over 60 deals across the NCAA. Other brands with a significant presence in the NCAA and also during the championship game broadcast were Taco Bell, Capital One, and Goodyear. These brands have 50, 30 and 10 deals across the NCAA respectively.

As the NCAA Football season comes to an end, more than 9,000 brands in over 30 categories were actively buying sponsorship or media within the NCAA since the start of the football season. TicketSmarter, Coca-Cola & Pepsi are the top three brands in terms of sponsorship deals with Allstate and Nike rounding out the top five.

July 2021 was a big month for college athletes. They were granted the ability to sign endorsement deals as part of the new NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) Law that was passed. NIL Endorsement deals gives student athletes the opportunity to begin making money while playing sports in college.

Apparel & Accessory brands took immediate advantage of this opportunity leading the way in total deals with college athletes. Many would assume this means Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour were signing many of these deals. Instead it was emerging brands like Rhoback, PSD Underwear, and Fanjoy which lead the way with the most endorsement deals in the Apparel & Accessory category.

More than 350 brands have signed NIL deals with college athletes. Raising Cane’s is at the top of the list. FTX follows right behind with over 10 deals in the NIL space.

Heading into tonight’s College Football Championship, here are the top four players who have signed the most deals between the two teams this season. Heisman Trophy winner and Alabama star QB, Bryce Young, has the highest social following of the four athletes. It was reported by Alabama head coach, Nick Saban, that Young was making near 7-figures in NIL deals before throwing his first pass this season. Will more brands moving forward take a shot on athletes prior to the season after seeing the success of Bryce Young?