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From The GIST Sports Biz (hi@thegistsports.com)
Hi there!
We’re honoring five incredible years of our flagship podcast, The GIST of It with a brand new look and feel. While the pod will still feature co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz, we’ve changed the episode format, length, and theme music. Plus, there’s an exciting new voicemail segment, where El & Steph will answer questions from The GIST community.
- Check out our latest episode, then keep scrolling to see how brands are adapting in the rapidly-changing world of women’s sports. Tuned in.
Women’s sports
💰 A billion-dollar question
The GIST: Yesterday, Deloitte shared key insights into why the women’s game is generating revenue at an exponential rate. The company predicts global revenue for women’s sports will cross the $2B threshold in 2025, a 240% increase in just two years. This is largely thanks to commercial revenue, which is set to top $1.26B after a rise in engagement, brand recognition, and sponsorships.
- While trends like multi-club ownership, operating leagues like start-ups, and boosting audience access via streaming are strong business practices, key takeaways for brands include coming in at the ground level and focusing on return on objective (ROO). Class is in session.
The breakdown: While Deloitte predicts commercial revenue will be responsible for 54% of total global revenue in the women’s game, broadcast deals are expected to bag $590M (25%) with matchday experiences earning $500M (21%). Basketball leads the way as the highest-grossing sport globally at $1.03B (44%), with soccer banking around $820M (35%).
- Regionally, North America comes in far ahead with an expected $1.39B in revenue, which would be 59% of total earnings. Europe is second with $420M (18%), but markets in Asia, Africa, and Australia are quickly gaining ground.
The impact: Women’s sports sponsors are also seeing significant payoffs in meaningful metrics like brand affinity. Deloitte specifically cites how partners in the WNBA Changemakers program saw a whopping 286% average ROI, with one making $18M on a $5M investment, showing how brand strength — which is a powerful sales driver — can be amplified among women’s sports fans.
The ROO factor: While rising ROI is an easy indicator of sponsorship success, it’s not the only one. Deloitte encourages brands to consider more holistic metrics such as ROO, which allows brands to reach benchmarks in categories such as brand affinity, social impact, and fan engagement.
- One example is Nike’s 2019 “Dream Crazier” campaign, which was narrated by Serena Williams and featured women athletes who defied expectations. Similar to its historic Super Bowl ad, the theme of empowering women athletes played well and garnered over 400M cross-platform impressions, including more than 100M on YouTube.
Zooming out: The Deloitte report proves that while investing in women’s sports produces significant financial returns, there are other proven ways that brands benefit. By associating with women’s sports, companies win favor with fans, something brands like Ally have consistently seen as they double down on their investments. Banking on it.
Together With The GIST
🤯 Did you know?
Did you know that the most distinctive shift in sports in the last 50 years has been the rapid rise in the importance, influence, and value of female fans?*
Did you know that 80% of all consumer spending is controlled by women?**
Did you know that The GIST reaches one million newsletter subscribers, 85% of whom identify as women or nonbinary?
Did you know that you could grow brand love and affinity by aligning with a women-founded business that’s challenging the male-dominated sports industry?
If this sounds intriguing to you or your company, let’s talk.
* Data from Nielsen** Data from CNBC🤝 MassMutual teams up with a variety of women athletes
The financial services and insurance provider collaborated with agencies Giant Spoon and Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment for its latest campaign, which addresses the confidence gap in women’s financial security. The campaign stars NCAA basketball star Flau’jae Johnson, tennis champion Madison Keys, and World Cup winner Christen Press, a lineup that spans sports and generations.
🎬 ESPN spotlights women’s college basketball in second season of Full Court Press
On Monday, the network announced that its Full Court Press series — which is produced by Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions — will focus on the next generation of women’s college basketball stars: Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo, the aforementioned Johnson, and USC forward Kiki Iriafen.
- This follows an industry-wide trend of developing docuseries around the women’s game, especially at the collegiate level. Johnson featured in Amazon Prime’s Money Game last year, while Iriafen’s teammate JuJu Watkins has her own docuseries exclusively on Peacock. Ready for their closeup.
🎾 Tennis union and its players sue tennis tours, governing bodies over antitrust claims
The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) and 12 pro tennis players filed a lawsuit against the International Tennis Federation, the WTA, the ATP, and the International Tennis Integrity Agency over antitrust concerns yesterday. Players allege these organizations work together to cap prize money, restrict off-court opportunities, and veto measures that would increase prize pots.
- They cite an example involving billionaire Larry Ellison, who sought to increase the prize pool at Indian Wells in 2012 to attract top-tier players and thereby generate increased sponsor and media interest, but had his proposal allegedly blocked because other tournaments would have been pressured to up their prize offerings.
🏒 Detroit set the U.S. women’s hockey attendance record (again) with 14K at Little Caesars Arena for its PWHL Takeover Tour game as the league officially surpassed 1M total fans.
📺 Former WNBA star and current ESPN analyst Chiney Ogwumike (pronounced chih-NAY oh-GWOOM-ih-kay) launched Victorious, a women-focused production company that is planning a scripted series on the W. Drama.
💸 Actress Wanda Sykes and sports business executive Alex Sykes invested in Unrivaled, which wrapped its season with an average of 281K viewers per game.
🏉 U.S. rugby governing body USA Rugby officially sanctioned Women’s Elite Rugby, the rugby 15s competition kicking off later this year.
🏈 The Women’s National Football Conference is airing its championship game on ESPN2 in the league’s first-ever live linear broadcast. A fair catch.
🐛 Raid partnered with Baylor players Darianna Littlepage-Buggs and Jeremy Roach for an NIL deal playing on their names, similar to the pun-driven sponsorships for Olympians Kassidy Cook and Sarah Bacon.
🏆 Fast Company named women’s sports partnership platform Parity as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2025.
👀 Private equity firm and Bay FC owner Sixth Street bought a 10% stake in MLB’s San Francisco Giants, which includes investment in the team’s waterfront real estate endeavors. The Bay is bae.
Here’s what has The GIST team currently hyped:
📖 What to read
This story about Reshard Langford, the ex-NFL player turned strength coach who helped Madison Keys win the Australian Open in January. His journey from the gridiron to Grand Slam glory is one for the books
🎟️ What to check out
The 2025 Media, Entertainment & Sports Conference. Harvard Business School is hosting a stacked lineup of speakers, including The GIST’s co-founder Ellen Hyslop. From sports media moguls to Hollywood execs, this is where the industry’s future takes shape and it's all going down on March 29th.
💅 Who to know
Carine Roitfeld. She’s blending fashion and sport in Players, a new bi-annual magazine giving athletes the high-fashion treatment.
Today's email was brought to you by Aryanna Prasad and Briana Ekanem. Fact checking by Rachel Fuenzalida. Editing by Dee Lab. Operations by Elisha Gunaratnam and Marga Sison. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alessandra Puccio, and Lisa Minutillo. Managing edits by Molly Potter and Ellen Hyslop. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.