Brand Builders: NIL & Women's Sports

Female athletes are rapidly becoming the key to building program success

Author

Sam Rotellini
February 20, 2025

In partnership with

  • According to Sponsors United, women made up 52% of the top 100 college athletes with NIL deals for the 2023-24 season

  • SMU Volleyball player Alex Glover had 41 deals, more than any other athlete on the list

  • Female athletes had 3.5 deals per athlete, compared to 2.5 for male athletes.

  • On3 newly released ranking of the top women’s NIL Value had the top four athletes breaking $1 million.

  • Livvy Dunne topped the list at $4.1 million, with none of the top 10 lower than $650,000.

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Nike Bets on Women to Fuel Their Brand Rebound

With their first Super Bowl ad in three decades, Nike clearly stated their belief that women in sports are where they expect to grow. That seems like a safe bet, based on the Sports Innovation Lab’s 2025 Women’s Sports Media Benchmarking Survey data that showed many brands plan to increase their investment in women’s sports.

Key Findings from Sports Innovations Survey

  • brands plan to allocate 20% of their sports media budget in 2025 to women’s sports, up from just 9% in 2023

  • 82% of brands plan to increase their women’s sports budgets in 2025

  • 34% of brands plan to increase their women’s sports budgets by more than 10% in 2025

  • Brands plan to reallocate 7% of their sports media budget from men’s to women’s sports in 2025

Women’s sports have huge momentum going into 2025. The expansion of the WNBA and the launch of Unrivaled Basketball has increased opportunities for both players and advertisers. Women’s sports have become more mainstream, with increased media coverage and access on streaming services.

It doesn’t look like the growth and momentum will be slowing down anytime soon, so whether you are an athlete, coach, or AD, now is the time to look for ways to grow your brand through women’s sports.

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Why Female Athletes are the Best Value for NIL $$$$$

When you compare men and women athletes NIL values, women are the clear leader. Female athletes have demonstrated their ability to connect with a more diverse audience, create strong brand loyalty and appeal, and maintain high engagement rates that partners can leverage to generate real income for their business.

Women are more comfortable engaging their audience beyond sports, incorporating wellness, fashion, beauty, and lifestyle that offers more avenues for partnerships. Their ability to engage their followers - regardless of how many they have - across multiple social media platforms is a key metric that major brands want from their partners.

Women often present a more approachable and aspirational image that will resonate beyond sports fans. When you consider the majority of men’s NIL is concentrated in football and basketball, the ability to appeal to everyday consumers, casual fans and to sports fans across a wide variety of sports, it is abundantly clear that female athletes are the best place to spend NIL dollars.