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The GIST: This week, prominent sports sponsor Ally released survey data on 3K Gen Z, millennial, Gen X, and Boomer sports fans to understand how and where sports fans spend their money. The study illustrates spending differences by generation and gender, including details on the spending profile of women sports fans. Let’s dive in.

💸 Men spend more than women in women’s sports. Men spend on average $600 annually on women’s sports compared to a $400 annual average for women. And in men’s sports, average spend is $950, almost twice as much compared to $500 on women’s sports.

• Still, this gap is quickly closing. Nearly one in five fans said their spending on women’s sports has increased over the past three years, and it’s largely thanks to Gen Z — 40% of this cohort says endorsing women’s sports is a way to champion equality and empowerment.

💰 Millennials spend more on sports than any other generation. Overall, sports fans spend an average of $1.6K on the game annually, while “fanatical” fans drop as much as $2.2K a year on average. Millennials are at the top end of the spectrum — they spend $2.05K annually, while Gen Z spends $1.55K per year.

• Nearly one in three of these fans say sports spending makes them feel connected, which may be why Gen Z fans were found to most frequently blow their budget to spend on sports and to reduce spending in other areas to accommodate their sports splurges.

🎟️ Men tend to spend big on IRL experiences, while women are more inclined to share the fun at home. Men are more likely to travel long distances for sporting events (31% vs. 25%) and are more willing to spend on tickets and VIP perks, while women are more likely to gather at a friends’ home (52% vs. 46%) and host watch parties (31% vs. 26%).

The takeaway: Though men spend more and are more likely to travel and attend games, women fans are still doing this at high rates. Moreover, women fans are enticed by community activations: Consider Unwell Hydration’s Unwell FC, which taps into soccer’s powerful supporter group culture to promote its product.

• Savvy sponsors should meet women sports fans where they are and provide a space to meet, something the wave of women’s sports bars across the U.S. are looking to accomplish. It’s no surprise that Ally has already been involved — and thanks to this new data, anyone can leverage this to tap into women fandom and appeal to these communities. Join the club.

The GIST: Yesterday, legendary Olympic alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin announced her new personal brand and logo as she prepares to win over fans with her persona. And the timing couldn’t be better: The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup and Milano Cortina 2026 are just around the corner.

• Though plenty of elite athletes have used their in-game success to introduce personal brands, Shiffrin’s launch ahead of these major events positions her to profit through the Games and beyond, something that’s been uncommon for winter Olympians. In rare air.

The details: Shiffrin is extending her new brand through a podcast, What’s the Point with Mikaela Shiffrin, which is presented by Stifel and will kick off next Wednesday. In the podcast, Shiffrin will utilize her unique perspective as a dominant elite athlete to chat with pros in sports, business, and other industries.

The context: Shiffrin’s namesake brand is powered by her reputation as an elite athlete: She is the winningest alpine skier in history, and brands associated with her elite excellence include Adidas, Oakley, Stifel, United Airlines, and Visa. Shiffrin has also extended her influence to command ownership in sports, such as her stake in the NWSL’s Denver Summit FC.

The precedent: We’ve seen personal brands from many elite male athletes at the top of their game like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Lewis Hamilton, but we’ve only seen it from a handful of women athletes. It tends to only be very prominent individual athletes (think tennis stars and Olympians), but A’ja Wilson, Megan Rapinoe, and Sabrina Ionescu all landed logos via Nike.

• However, it’s even rarer for winter sport athletes, though snowboarder Shaun White and skier Lindsey Vonn have leveraged their names as two of the best-known winter athletes. Generally, the winter Olympics have lower viewership and thereby draw fewer advertisers, which may be why White and Vonn worked so hard to become year-long, household names.

Zooming out: In recent games, Olympians have taken matters into their own hands when it comes to promoting themselves, especially on social media. As a women athlete in a niche sport, it’s smart for Shiffrin to remind people who she is and what she’s accomplished ahead of the Games.

• It’s also timely to see Shiffrin capitalizing on the rise of podcasts, especially as a recent report found women are featured in only 22% of athlete-owned sports podcasts. This gives her a perspective that few others have, both as an athlete and podcast host. The 30K view looks good from here.