Key Takeaways
- NFHS counted a record 3,654,589 girls in high school sports in 2025-26, an increase of 114,993 over the prior year.
- Girls’ high school flag football grew from 15,716 players in 2021-22 to 102,360 in 2025-26, according to NFHS.
- Nielsen reports that 60% of women’s sports fans have switched brands over a company’s values, and that ad spend is up 120% since 2022.
- The PWHL’s business chief told Brandweek that controlling all 12 teams leaves partnership ideas without guardrails.
Women’s sports sponsorship is growing at the pro and college levels while girls’ high school participation sets new records. At a Brandweek 2026 panel co-hosted by Scripps, Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) EVP of business operations Amy Scheer said the league operates as a single entity, which gives brand partners creative latitude, Adweek reported. Separately, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) reported on August 27 that high school sports participation rose for a fifth straight year in 2025-26, with girls reaching a record 3,654,589 participants.
What Pro Leagues and Networks Are Pitching Sponsors
Scheer said the PWHL’s control over its teams and league operations shapes how it works with brands. “When you come in to be a partner with the PWHL, all ideas are on the table because we have control of our 12 teams,” she said, adding that fans support brands they believe share their values.
Nielsen’s research points the same way. The firm found that 60% of women’s sports fans have switched brands because of a company’s values, that more than 30% of NWSL fans bought from a brand after seeing an in-game sponsorship, and that ad spend in women’s sports has risen 120% since 2022. Nielsen
Scripps Sports is building content around the athletes. Sherry Pitkofsky, SVP of marketing at Scripps Sports, said fans need access beyond game broadcasts, including shoulder programming and social media. Scripps Sports Network airs Beyond the Curve, hosted by Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross, and has an upcoming original series from broadcaster Suzy Kolber. “It is its own sport with its own identity,” Kolber said.
How Big Is the Women’s Sports Audience in Pro and College?
According to Nielsen, U.S. audiences viewed 46 billion minutes of women’s sports in 2025, up 71% since 2022. Viewing reached 28.3 billion minutes in the first half of 2026, and Nielsen counts 122.5 million U.S. fans of women’s sports.
College basketball posted its own gains. ESPN said the 2026 NCAA women’s championship game between South Carolina and UCLA drew 9.9 million viewers, up 15% from the prior year’s final. The full tournament averaged 1.3 million viewers, up 5% and the second most-watched on record. The regular season was ESPN’s most-watched since 2008-09, up 19% year over year.
Girls’ High School Participation Sets New Records
Adweek tied the growth in women’s sports fandom to more girls playing youth sports than ever before, and the NFHS survey supports that. Girls’ participation increased by 114,993, or 3.2 percent, and girls’ volleyball passed 500,000 participants for the first time, reaching 502,056.
Flag football grew fastest. NFHS counted 15,716 girls playing high school flag football in 2021-22 and 102,360 in 2025-26, a gain of about 87,000 players in four years.
3.65 Million Girls, and a Sponsorship Pitch Still Aimed at Pros
The Brandweek panel focused on professional properties and did not address youth sponsorship. The data on either side of that gap is now public: Nielsen’s findings on how women’s sports fans reward sponsors, and NFHS counts showing more girls in high school sports than at any point on record. With girls’ flag football alone adding roughly 87,000 players in four years, the question the panel left open is which brands will engage those athletes before they become the fans Nielsen measures.
- Source: Adweek, Justin Chin, September 21, 2026, https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/womens-sports-are-creating-a-new-playbook-for-brand-partnerships/
- Source: NFHS, August 27, 2026, https://nfhs.org/stories/led-by-girls-flag-football-and-girls-wrestling-high-school-sports-participation-increases-for-fifth-consecutive-year
- Source: Nielsen, August 13, 2026, https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2026/women-sports/
- Source: ESPN Press Room, April 9, 2026, https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2026/04/espn-delivers-stellar-2025-26-womens-college-basketball-campaign/
- Source: ESPN Press Room, July 2026, https://espnpressroom.com/feature/unmatched-moments-espns-2025-26-college-sports-coverage-raises-the-bar/
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About Youth Sports Business Report
Youth Sports Business Report (YSBR) is the largest and most trusted media platform covering the business of youth sports worldwide. YSBR delivers youth sports news, market intelligence, and original analysis daily across facilities, sponsorships, private equity, NIL, sports technology, and league operations. With more than 50,000 followers, YSBR is the leading source of youth sports industry news for the investors, owners, operators, and brands shaping the future of youth sports.
How big is the youth sports market?
American families spend approximately $54 billion annually on kids’ sports and recreation, according to the YSBR and Kinetica Group Youth Sports TAM & Parent Spending Report, with organized sports alone representing a $40 billion-plus market. The average family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46 percent since 2019, per the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, and market research projects the global youth sports market will reach approximately $114 billion by 2032 (Business Research Insights).
How many kids play youth sports in the United States?
Approximately 27.3 million children ages 6 to 17, or about 54.6 percent, played organized sports in 2022-2023, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health as reported by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play. High school sports participation reached a record 8.26 million athletes in 2024-25, per the NFHS.
Who founded Youth Sports Business Report?
Youth Sports Business Report was founded by Cameron Korab, a sports marketing veteran with more than a decade in the industry and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Korab also co-founded Vertical Sports, a sports marketing advisory serving brands across youth, college, and pro sports.
What does YSBR cover?
YSBR delivers original reporting and market intelligence on youth sports facilities, youth sports technology, sponsorship and brand partnerships, private equity and venture capital deals, NIL policy, coaching development, equipment and apparel, tournaments and events, and community sports initiatives. Readers include industry executives, investors, facility owners and operators, league administrators, and youth sports parents.
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- Newsletter: Subscribe to Youth Sports HQ, the most-read newsletter on the business of youth sports, delivering curated youth sports industry news and analysis to thousands of industry leaders every week.
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Check out Jr. Sports Marketing on YouTube or Spotify
Hosted by Cameron Korab, founder of Youth Sports Business Report, Jr. Sports Marketing features candid 1-on-1 conversations with the brands, athletes, leagues, and innovators building the future of youth sports. Each episode breaks down how the smartest brands are activating, building equity, and winning with youth sports families. If you’re an operator, founder, investor, or marketer trying to understand where this space is headed, this is your show.
Youth Sports Marketing Questions, Answered
Where can brands sponsor youth sports? Brands can sponsor youth sports through local leagues and clubs, tournaments and events, facilities and complexes, governing bodies, and national platform programs. Sponsoring a child’s own program is the most powerful entry point: 81 percent of parents say it captures their attention, outperforming TV, social media, and pro sports sponsorship, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study conducted by YouGov Sport.
How much does youth sports sponsorship cost? Youth sports sponsorship costs range from a few thousand dollars for a local league or team sponsorship to six and seven figures for regional facility naming rights and national platform programs. The environment is welcoming at every level: 84 percent of parents hold net positive sentiment toward brands sponsoring youth sports, with negative sentiment under 5 percent, per YouGov Sport research. Most brands start with a pilot activation, measure engagement, then scale.
What is the ROI of youth sports marketing? The data is striking: 80 percent of parents say they would choose the brand that sponsors their child’s youth sports program when comparing two similar products, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study by YouGov Sport. A 2026 EMARKETER and DICK’S Media survey found 84 percent of sports parents say that role influences their purchase decisions, and 60 percent spend more on game and practice days, driving loyalty across categories from dining to travel to automotive.
Ready to build a youth sports strategy? Vertical Sports is an Advisory+ delivering integrated expertise across all levels of sport. Youth, College, Pro. Every Fan, Every Level. Brands and youth sports organizations can reach the team at info@verticalsports.us.
