The hidden game: discover the sports business
Career climbers / April 28, 2025
L. Felipe Monteiro
A nail penalty shooting. A Sprint title decided by mere milliseconds. A championship that is reduced to the cable. From baseball to bádminton, sport has a remarkable ability to unite millions of people around the world and leave them on the edge of their seats, whether they are observing the action in person or tune from far from afar.
Behind the scene, the sports business is much more intricate than many fans can imagine. It is a fixed and complex industry that extends far beyond what is visible to spectators, driven by everything, from globalization to geopolitics and digitalization.
Next, we pull the curtain of five key commercial trends that define the world of sports today.
1. Transversality
The intersection of sports and other industries, including media, finance and fashion, is a gold mine for collaborative companies. The majority of the revenues of sports teams are derived from global television rights, which were estimated to be worth around US $ 56 billion in 2023 (including non -team sports). The transition to the transmission of hasHipado the panorama, creating new investment possibilities and redefining how sports are consumed and monetized. Think about the Netflix incursion into sports documentaries such as “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” and “Break Point”, or its live transmission of the historical boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson that attracted 108 million global spectators.
While sport thrives in unpredictability and passion, it is increasingly based on financial support in private capital, risk capital, sovereign funds of wealth or individual investors of deep pocket to grow. An excellent example is the renewal of US $ 1.9 billion of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium (Turf Home of Football Club Real Madrid), which would be impossible without significant external final support.
In the fashion world, luxury clothing brands have been increasing their associations with individual sports teams and athletes (for example, Louis Vuitton and the freelayer Eileen Gu and the Rolex player and tennis player Carlos Alcaraz). Teams and athletes obtain prestige and financial support, while luxury labels access a broader and wider audience and improve their cultural relevance. Collaborations with companies in sectors such as nutrition, medical care, music and education are also accelerating, increasing connections and blurring lines between sports and other industries.
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