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NBA team sponsorship revenue rose 7% to a record $1.5 billion during the 2023-24 season, according to a new report from SponsorUnited.
The growth was driven by the new In-Season Tournament, the Global Games and the emergence of rising stars, such as Victor Wembanyama. Sponsors benefited from record attendance figures at NBA arenas, including total attendance, number of sellouts and percent capacity.
“The NBA has continued to evolve the business where they have introduced new platforms and opportunities,” Bob Lynch, SponsorUnited CEO, said in a video interview. “It provides a lot more options for brands.”
Alcohol brands had the highest number of sponsorship deals for the fifth straight year with 290, and the $98 million in spending by alcohol companies was up 24% from the previous year. The number of beer deals are down, according to SponsorUnited, but there is increased interest in premium spirits and ready-to-drink cocktails.
The SponsorUnited data measures team sponsorships and does not include league-level sponsorships. Teams received a new asset to market with the introduction of the jersey patch program for the 2017-18 season. The Golden State Warriors have the richest pact with their Rakuten deal worth an estimated $45 million per year. The Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks all earn between $25 million and $30 million for their deals.
Alcohol has the most deals, but financial services brands spent the most money at $247 million. Spending for the category, which includes banks, mortgage and investment firms, was down 14%, but it is still twice as much as the $122 million for technology. Healthcare ($105 million), alcohol and autos ($89 million) round out the top five.
Technology had the second biggest gains at 26% among the top 10 spending categories—autos was first at 32%. The average team has five or six technology partners, and there is a huge diversity in the technologies that are integrated into these teams. "I can have a use case where there's potentially a business-back component to the relationship, so we could actually be driving revenue right from the outset," Lynch said.
The most active brands with teams are all league partners as well. They are Tissot, Michelob Ultra, State Farm, Ticketmaster and Gatorade. Each of them has relationships with at least 80% of NBA clubs, including those league sponsors with a presence in the arena. The brands who added the most venue deals this season were Casamigos Tequila, Frito-Lay, Gorilla Glue and Acronis.
SponsorUnited highlighted Gradey Dick, Jalen Brunson, Ausar Thompson and Amen Thompson as players who added the most endorsement deals over the past year, with each player landing at least six deals.
The NFL is the clear leader among U.S. sports leagues for team sponsorship revenue at $2.35 billion, per SponsorUnited. MLB ($1.5 billion), NBA ($1.5 billion) and NHL ($1.2 billion for the 2022-23 season) are tightly bunched, while MLS is at $587 million.