Companies Willing to Sponsor Sports Teams
Companies Willing to Sponsor Sports Teams: If you’ve merely skimmed over the information in this guide (and you should actually read everything), then devote some attention to this part. It’s a rundown of all the processes required for successful sport sponsorship.
Sports sponsorship might help your team pay for new uniforms and travel fees. With the proper sponsor, you may also improve your promotional status. But how can you track out that elusive suitable sponsor in sports?
This list covers both big names and minor names, so no matter your degree of expertise in sports sponsorship, there should be a sponsor on this list for you.
Companies Willing to Sponsor Sports Teams
Pepsi
Few American brands are more well-known or beloved than Pepsi, owned by PepsiCo Inc. Pepsi has become a vital part of the sports world by sponsoring major-league games in a variety of sports, in addition to providing sugary beverages to the people. Pepsi currently has partnerships with the NBA, NHL, and NFL.
Pepsi sponsored Major League Soccer (MLS) until 2015, and it partnered with the MLB through 2017. Both of these leagues have since moved to Coca-Cola as their sponsor.
Pepsi has also backed cricket teams such as Pakistan’s national team. Pepsi’s distinctively colored emblem appears on their test match clothes and game kit. This simply goes to show that you don’t have to be a member of the NFL, NHL, or NBA to capture Pepsi’s attention and perhaps earn their sponsorship bucks.
Red Bull
Red Bull’s energy drinks are also associated with athletics, according to one beverage company. When compared to the list of sports sponsored by Pepsi, those sponsored by Red Bull are admittedly more intense. If you enjoy skateboarding, free-ride mountain biking, skiing, BMX, or cliff diving, Red Bull may be the sponsor for you.
Red Bull also offers sports sponsorship in ice hockey, football (not American football, but soccer), and motorsports. Red Bull has a Formula One team called Red Bull Racing, and they used to have a NASCAR squad called Team Red Bull.
Even Red Bull has its own sporting events. The Flugtag is a German phrase that translates to “flight day.” To participate, you must build a flying contraption that can take off from a big ramp and land in the water. The Red Bull Crashed Ice Tour is an ice-cross downhill skating competition, whereas the Red Bull Soap Box Derby is a soapbox race.
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola will be the king of soda in 2021, according to Caffeine Informer. This soft drink maker is also the sponsorship king. Since 1928, Coke has been an Olympic Games partner, and Coke has recently added the Paralympic Games to its list of sponsors.
Coca-Cola may be interested in your soccer squad. According to Coke’s website, “Our support for football is at all levels – from grassroots with the Copa Coca-Cola to 100+ Professional Football teams, federations, and National teams.” In this example, football refers to soccer.
Coca-Cola’s soccer sponsorships began in 1958, therefore this area of sponsorship is as old as the company itself. Coke became a sponsor of the FIFA World Cup in 1978 and has been with the sports organization ever since.
Aside from soccer, Coke also supports the PGA Tour Championship, the NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB, and NASCAR. Coke’s names appear on the Coke Zero Sugar 400 and Coca-Cola 600 events in the latter sport. Every victor of the Coca-Cola 600 race receives a vintage Coke vending machine.
Optimum Nutrition
Let me now discuss some smaller target sponsors. One such company to add to your list is Optimum Nutrition. Optimum Nutrition, which has been in business for over three decades, sells protein, vitamins, and other supplements to athletes. Optimum Nutrition has a product to help you gain muscle, maintain it, get stronger, or have more energy.
Individual individuals, as well as entire teams or leagues, are sponsored by Optimum Nutrition. The rugby union team Saracens Football Club in London, England is one of their major sponsors.
Reebok
Another notable option for sports sponsorship is the sports footwear company Reebok. Reebok, which was founded in 1895, specializes in CrossFit, running, and fitness shoes and clothing. Since 2005, Adidas has owned Reebok.
For more than a decade, Reebok was an official CrossFit sponsor, including annual support of the CrossFit Games. The Spartan Race and the Portugal national basketball team were also sponsored by the brand. Obstacle races such as the Spartan Sprint and Spartan Ultra are part of this sports series. Spartan Race events are held in over 30 countries, demonstrating Reebok’s global reach!
Dick’s Sporting Goods
Dick’s Sporting Goods, a Pennsylvania-based corporation started in 1948, is similar to Reebok. Aside from athletic footwear and clothing, Dick’s sells a wide range of sporting products, including gear and equipment for almost any sport you can think of.
Dick’s provides child sports sponsorship as well as community outreach sponsorships, which include “teams, leagues, and athletes in the communities we serve,” according to their website. If your sports team fits that description, a sponsorship with Dick’s might be quite beneficial to you!
Dick’s was an official store for Team USA’s Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2016. The sports retailer also owns the naming rights to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, which houses the Colorado Rapids soccer team.
Puma
Puma, a German brand, is one of the top three largest sportswear brands, so if you want to go big with your sports sponsorship, you may work with them. Puma actively sponsors or has sponsored a wide range of sports teams, and when I say wide range, I really mean it. Here is the entire list:
- American and Australian football
- Olympic committees in Jamaica and Cuba
- The national volleyball team
- Water polo
- Men’s and women’s track and field national teams
- Table tennis
- Rugby union players, club teams, and national teams
- Netball
- Handball club teams and national teams
- Motorsports like Formula E, IndyCar, NASCAR, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters or DTM, and Formula One
- Golf
- Gaelic Games or GAA
- Figure skating
- Fencing
- Cricket, including individual players and club teams
- Boxing
- Basketball
- Football clubs and national teams in South America, Oceania, North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa
State Farm
Moving away from sports brands, the insurance giant State Farm has a sports sponsorship track record comparable to Puma. State Farm sponsored the NBA charity initiative NBA Cares Charity Challenge. The State Farm All-Star Saturday Night is the name of the NBA’s skills competition.
When Arizona State and the University of Arizona participate, the varsity games are all referred to as the State Farm Territorial Cup Series. Similarly, the games between the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University are dubbed the State Farm Lone Star Showdown.
Every year, the State Farm Holiday Classic basketball game between Bloomington and Normal, Illinois, becomes a festive tradition. This event showcases high school talent. State Farm is willing to take on both amateur and professional athletes, which may provide you with a chance.
Of course, I had to mention State Farm’s name rights agreements. There’s the State Farm Center for basketball games at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, the State Farm Arena for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, and the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League play here.
Budweiser
According to USA Today, Budweiser, an Anheuser-Busch product, is among the top five most popular beers for 2020. The brand that bills itself as “the king of beers” has licensing rights deals worth $20 million a year with leagues such as the MLB.
Bud is considerably more interested in motorsports, particularly NASCAR. Scott Goodyear in 1994, Mario Andretti from 1983 to 1984, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. from 1999 to 2007 are some of the most popular drivers the brand has sponsored.
Budweiser sponsored the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer. In 2020, the beer business vowed to provide customized beer bottles to soccer goalkeepers against whom Lionel Messi scored to commemorate Messi’s 664 career goals.
Castrol
Castrol has been in the gas and oil industry since 1899, therefore they are no strangers to motorsports. Consider receiving sponsorship from Castrol if your sports team drives anything on wheels.
Castrol has been involved in a variety of motorsports over the years, including Formula One, the World Rally Championship, and NHRA drag racing.
In Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, their racing track is known as Castrol Raceway, thanks to a lucrative naming rights arrangement. The lubricant company supports NASCAR Cup Series driver D.J. Kennington as well as NASCAR Canadian Tire. Castrol also sponsors Rick Kelly of Kelly Racing in Australia, as well as Tickford Racing in Australia.
Castrol has dabbled in sponsorships outside of motorsports, including English football, rugby, cricket, and American football, but the firm is best recognized for its motorsports relationships.
Conclusion
With over a dozen fantastic companies on this list, your sports team has a plethora of sponsorship opportunities. However, compiling a list of potential sponsors is only the beginning!
If you haven’t already, send out your audience survey, then assemble your assets and examine them. Once you’ve put together your sponsorship package, you may start looking for common contacts in one of the following sponsorship firms. Finally, you can reach out to potential sponsors and set up meetings.
If you need assistance with any of the following, please see my free course, How to Grow Your Sponsorship Program. It will surely be useful!
People Also Ask
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How do I get companies to sponsor my sports team?
Create sponsorship bundles.
Create a letter of outreach.
Make touch with existing contacts.
Request sponsorship from your community.
Look into companies that provide sponsorship.
Fundraising for your sports team online.
Sponsorship requires time. -
Which Companies Willing to Sponsor Sports Teams
Castrol
Budweiser
State Farm
Puma
Dick’s Sporting Goods