Beverages have always been an integral part of sports events, prompting drinks brands to maintain a substantial presence as sponsors for sporting events, notably in the US market. Across the top North American leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS) and their teams, beverages account for 15% of all sponsorship deals – the largest sector by volume of deals. These deals allow drinks companies to build and maintain brand awareness, to sell their product within stadia, and to incorporate the league’s IP into their own product packaging.

Ampere’s analysis of drinks sponsorship deals highlights the prevalence of three distinct drinks sub-sectors: beer, spirits and liqueur and soft drinks. Within this, beer companies have the highest number of sponsorship deals. 

Beer brands account for 63% of all drinks sponsorships within the NFL and half of those in the MLB, while Anheuser Busch has the highest number of current deals of any partner with 77 across all the leagues. This has historically seen a strong return on investment for both sides, fostering a symbiotic relationship between consumers and the partnership brands.

In the NBA, NHL, and MLS, however, beer companies were less prevalent. Moreover, Ampere’s Sponsorship Consumer data shows that US sports fans who drink beer are more likely than average to be fans of all these leagues, indicating a potential opportunity for teams within these leagues to drive additional partnerships with beer brands. 

Spirits and liqueur companies, meanwhile, have the same share of sponsorships as beer in the NBA (31%) and a near equal share in the NHL and MLS with the companies accounting for 28% and 29% respectively. Nearly half of spirit drinkers are aged 25-44 years old, which correlates particularly to the demographics of the NBA and MLS fanbases. 50% of the NBA’s fanbase and 52% of the MLS’s fall into this age group. In contrast, spirits and liqueur brands account for only 14% of drinks sponsorships in the MLB, and just 7% in the NFL. Although the MLB and NFL fans under-index for consuming spirits, there is still a sizeable addressable market among the fans of these sports, suggesting an opportunity to drive greater volumes of spirits and liqueur partnerships. 

The third category, soft drink companies, are the second largest sponsor category within the NFL accounting for 22% of drinks sponsors, and also within the MLB, accounting for 32% of sponsors. Soft drinks brands also represent 25% of the NHL's beverage partners. Conversely though, soft drink sponsorships represent less than 15% of the drinks deals signed by NBA and MLS teams. Once again, this suggests a potential opportunity, in this case, for soft drinks companies to increase their share of drinks sponsorship within the NBA and MLS.

For more detail on Ampere’s new data and analysis of sponsorship within the sports sector and beyond, please contact george.jones@ampereanalysis.com.