caytoo’s analysis of more than 1,350 Q3 2024 sponsorship deals reveals five key trends including a roundup of reported deal values to help benchmark your rights

Gambling sees a resurgence in activity
Gambling was the most prolific sponsor category in Q3 after experiencing the biggest jump in activity on Q2. Two-thirds of its deals were in soccer (led by the UK, Brazil and Spain) with cricket and American Football also featuring prominently. The category was led by Betway, who did the joint-third most deals of any company in Q3. Despite the controversy the category generates in some countries, it remains a major part of the sponsorship ecosystem and the go-to one for many sports due to its endemic link.

Ones to pitch
Other sectors seeing big jumps in activity and are ones to keep a close eye on include Banks, Specialist Professional Services and Mobile Telecoms.

Banks became the second-most prolific sponsor, driven by the US, UK and Italian markets. In the US, American Football (the NFL and the college game) was the most common rights holder Banks went for, particularly regional or state-based chains rather than nationwide chains. In the UK, a much smaller market, the big national chains led the way.

Specialist Professional Services – a wide-ranging category encompassing everything from security to waste management, packaging and equipment hire – remains an overlooked area in terms of ‘category-led’ prospecting by rights holders. However, its varied ecosystem and natural ability to be incorporated into the running of a rights holder organisation (thereby ‘showcasing product’) means it should be more front of mind.

It’s a welcome return to form for Mobile Telecoms – driven by brands sponsoring Spanish soccer clubs and Verizon’s activity across a range of US rights holders. It’s a sector with a rich history in sponsorship, which had tailed off in recent years, but the arrival of challengers to the dominant brands unlocks new opportunities and targets for rights holders.

What sales angle should I be focusing on?
Social Impact overtook overtook Brand Awareness as the most common motivation. It’s an increasingly important sales pitching angle, reinforcing how important it is for rights holders to ideate how a partnership can showcase how a sponsor can benefit society in some way. Even if not the main thrust of the deal, it’s an increasingly vital box that needs ticking.

Note that Banks, Insurance and Education are among the categories most likely to undertake deals due to Social Impact.

How much could I be charging?
The average deal size among reported deal values was €8.5 million per year. However, this was skewed by a handful of huge deals such as Qatar Airways €83.3m with UEFA’s Champions League. So, a more realistic size for most rights holders is the median value of €1.7m (the middle value when all deals are ordered by size). However, we captured deal values all the way down into the low thousands.

By looking at similar properties, rights holders can get a better picture of what they can potentially be charging for their own rights.

Which particular deals can I learn from?
The full Q3 2024 sponsorship deals report also contains caytoo’s pick of 10 deals that stood out due to a particular lesson it provides to rights holders when considering who to approach and how.

One worth drawing out is an extremely rare sponsorship from Google’s master brand (with the World Chess Championships) which shows how any company can be enticed into a deal if it’s a great way to tell their brand story.

In this case, it’s not clear if the WCC knew that one of Google’s “earliest AI breakthroughs came from mastering chess as a proof-of-concept” but it shows if your sport/field was involved in the building of a product, it could be a slam dunk to get them as a sponsor.