The sports business nowadays is awash in money and opportunities. Elite sports teams are worth billions of dollars, and top Indian athletes like MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar are highly compensated.
But have you ever pondered where the massive sums of money that are being doled out in the sports sector originate from?
You might think about bookmaker sponsorships. It’s true that leading bookmakers like Dafabet, where thousands of Indian bettors use the Dafabet app to maximize their mobile betting markets, make investments in football. But then, who else does?
This article will teach us about the big international conglomerates that drive the world’s sports market with their massive financial resources.
EA Sports
Founded in 1992, Electronic Arts (EA) is a well-known video game company, and EA Sports is one of its subbrands. Many well-known sports franchises, such as NBA Live, FIFA, Madden NFL, NHL, UFC, EA Sports Rally, F1, and EA Sports College Football, are released under this EA sub-brand.
EA Sports has a history of entering into sports sponsorship agreements, illustrating its commitment to the game of sports. A couple of the most recent sponsorships are the 2022 UEFA Women’s Champions League sponsorship and the 2023–24 La Liga title sponsor agreement.
One of the major sponsors of the English Premier League is EA Sports. Their sponsorship deals are quite old—they stretch back to before 2014. They have frequently been spotted extending their affiliation with the English Premier League as its official sports partner.
Adidas
Adidas, one of the greatest and most well-known sportswear companies in the world, was founded in 1924. Their main office is in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany, and they are a public business. Their target market is the entire globe, and they produce a ton of athletic gear, toiletries, footwear, and sports equipment annually. Adidas’s sales exceeds €21.915 billion.
Adidas is a sportswear company, so it’s hardly surprising that it has made investments in sports. Adidas has a history of signing kit deals with clubs and individual football players in the Spanish La Liga and English Premier League. Additionally, they have a history of supporting entire football leagues as well as national teams.
Adidas has sponsored products, events, athletes, teams, and leagues in football, field hockey, ice hockey, tennis, basketball, rugby, and cricket in addition to football. They continue to be one of the main sponsors of several sports.
Coca-cola
Established in 1886, Coca-Cola holds the distinction of being the most popular Cola among all current rivals. Coca-Cola has shipped to over 60 countries and generated an astounding $38.7 billion in revenue with its six varieties. The soft drink manufacturer’s US headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia.
Coca-cola has successfully invested in sports on multiple occasions, despite having no direct connection to sports. Their earliest investments go all the way back to 1928, when they were spotted supporting the Olympics. Coca-Cola continued to fund multiple Olympic games until 1978, when they quickly entered football and began sponsoring numerous FIFA competitions.
Coca-Cola has also been spotted experimenting with major league sports. The business has a history of supporting cricket tournaments, basketball games, hockey leagues, and auto racing events.
Nike
Nike, widely recognized as the largest and most successful sportswear company, has historically associated itself with sports investing. Nike, a publicly traded corporation that was founded in 1964, is well-known for its extensive manufacture of sports shoes, clothing, accessories, and recreational products. The company aims to serve the global market from its headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, in the United States. Nike brings in more than $46.71 billion annually.
It is well known that Nike is one of the major basketball sponsors. To commemorate Michael Jordan, the business even created a new sub-brand called Air Jordan specifically for basketball fans. As the largest sportswear company, they are present in practically every sport across the globe. Nike has a history of making investments in football, tennis, golf, and track & field.
Nike is committed to providing sports clothing and accessories and, like other major brands, it has an investment in individual players, teams or clubs, leagues, and tournaments.
Red Bull
Red Bull revolutionized the sports industry by inundating it with their whimsical, lighthearted concepts that originated in the 1980s. Scuderia Alpha Tauri and Red Bull Racing, the two F1 World Championship teams that are owned by the energy drink company, are Red Bull’s apex sports when it comes to extreme sports and motor racing.
Red Bull has an extremely aggressive ownership style for its sports teams. In 2005, they bought the Austrian team SV Austria Salzburg and changed the team’s name to Red Bull Salzburg. They currently play in the aptly named Red Bull Arena.
The company has been heavily involved in eSports sponsorship lately; in 2016, it collaborated with over 750 eSport athletes.