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Women's elite sports revenues to surpass $2.35 billion globally, Deloitte reports, yet imbalances persist

Women's elite sports revenues to surpass $2.35 billion globally, Deloitte reports, yet imbalances persist

Yahoo18-03-2025

Women's elite sports revenues are projected to reach a record $2.35 billion this year, according to Deloitte, more than triple the market size in 2022.
The consulting firm released its updated figures and projections for women's elite sports revenues across matchdays, broadcasts, and commercial deals this week, calling 2024 'a landmark year for women's sports, shattering expectations and exceeding Deloitte's initial projections.'
In the past year, major headlines included: women Olympians at the Paris Games generating over 50% of social media engagement despite their competitions being featured less than men, the WNBA securing a new broadcast deal amid record interest and viewership, NWSL players securing a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), and AC Milan becoming the first European soccer club to guarantee automatic contract renewals for players who become pregnant in the final year of their contract.
The underlying context of the report, though, was how disparities between sports, markets, and even within leagues persist.
Basketball and soccer are expected to remain the highest revenue-generating sports at 44% and 35%, respectively. While North America (59%) and Europe (18%) continue to top the list of global markets.
Even in one of those top earning sports, discrepancies remain. FIFA's annual Women's Football Benchmarking Report was also released this week and revealed the average women's soccer player makes $10,900 a year, but the number is skewed upwards by the 16 global clubs that paid an average salary of over $50,000. As a result, many of the world's women soccer players actually make far less than the $10,900 figure.
The implications go far beyond salary, too. Clubs that pay more than $5,000 were more likely to provide non-financial benefits – like health insurance, housing benefits, etc. – than those who do not.
Furthermore, clubs from FIFA-defined Tier 2 and 3 leagues – classified as 'aspiring' and 'emerging' leagues, respectively – were less likely to offer contracts a year or longer.
FIFA also found higher salaries were related to better performances on the pitch.
Deloitte Sports business group knowledge and insights lead Jennifer Haskel said while there have been positive signs in women's sport, there is still plenty more room for improvement.
'Women's sport is rewriting the playbook and challenging traditional norms to redefine the future of the industry. In 2025 and beyond, the challenge will be for the sports' industry, brand partners and investors to do things differently,' Haskel said in the report.
'Increasing strategic investment is more important than ever to drive a professional global landscape and create an engaging industry for generations to come.
'It is crucial for women's sport organisations to implement the right structures, develop a clear plan for investment, and define a long-term vision for their place within a rapidly evolving global industry.'

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Caitlin Clark's new line of Wilson basketballs reflect who she is off the court
Caitlin Clark's new line of Wilson basketballs reflect who she is off the court

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time11 minutes ago

  • USA Today

Caitlin Clark's new line of Wilson basketballs reflect who she is off the court

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But Paris 2024, which sold a record 12.1 million tickets for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, sold about 38% of its Olympic tickets to fans living outside France, according to the IOC. The successful event exceeded its ticketing and hospitality revenue target by $397 million and brought in a roughly $30-million surplus . Advertisement Read more: LA28 adds Honda as founding level partner, bolstering push for more funding Continuing the Olympic movement's success has been at the top of LA28's mind while bringing the Games back to L.A. for the first time in more than four decades. The 1984 Games were also privately funded and hailed as a massive success for their $225 million surplus that was invested in youth sports. The opportunity to use existing venues in 2028 dramatically reduces potential costs by avoiding new, permanent construction. 'I fully expect that LA28 will be successful in meeting its revenue goals, and I fully expect that the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be a financial success," Paul Krekorian, Los Angeles executive director for the office of major events, said in a statement to The Times. "Twice before, Los Angeles has hosted the Olympics, even in the face of adversity, and both of those Games were a huge success for our city and its residents." Still, city leaders face enormous pressure to ensure that streets and sidewalks are safe and accessible for the millions of people expected to visit L.A. during the Games. Mayor Karen Bass recently unveiled a citywide initiative called 'Shine L.A.' that encourages volunteers to beautify the city with clean-ups and tree plantings ahead of next year's World Cup and the Olympics. 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'We know how to do this. We are proving that every day and we will prove it all the way throughout the process and we are in every sense of the word, giving to the city, not taking from the city.' Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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