Key Takeaways
- Ace Hardware ran on-site signage and an in-game “Helpful Player” feature during ESPN’s High School Football Kickoff.
- The same Helpful Player content ran on League Ready, a high school sports channel operated by Playfly-owned Paragon, extending reach from ESPN households to teen followers.
- Home Depot has titled College GameDay since 2003 and reported $1.3 billion in fiscal 2025 net advertising expense.
- Lowe’s has held the NFL’s home improvement sponsorship since 2019 and took presenting rights to NBC’s Football Night in America for the 2025 season.
Ace Hardware appeared as a sponsor during ESPN’s High School Football Kickoff on August 21 and 22, with on-site signage at games and an in-game broadcast feature called “Helpful Player,” based on Youth Sports Business Report’s viewing of the telecasts. The activation marks a distinct approach to high school sports sponsorship in the home improvement category: while Home Depot and Lowe’s concentrate their sports budgets on college football and the NFL, Ace showed up a level below, on Friday night broadcasts watched by families and repurposed on social channels followed by the athletes themselves.
One Helpful Player segment during the broadcast featured Battle Ground Academy (TN) quarterback Bo Bryan, son of country music star Luke Bryan, who threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns on 16-of-21 passing in his first career start, leading Battle Ground Academy past St. Michael Catholic (AL), per MaxPreps
An Unannounced Sponsor at ESPN’s Season Opener
The High School Football Kickoff is ESPN’s marquee high school property, now in its 17th year, with seven nationally televised games from August 20 to 29, per ESPN Press Room. Notably, neither Ace nor ESPN has issued a press release about the sponsorship, and no trade outlet has covered it as of publication. ESPN’s own Kickoff announcement names Paragon Sports Marketing and Playfly Sports as its production and event partners but makes no mention of Ace.
Helpful Player content also ran on League Ready, a high school sports media brand operated by Paragon Sports Marketing, the production company behind ESPN’s high school telecasts that Playfly Sports acquired in 2025.
Who Does a High School Football Sponsorship Reach?
The structure of the activation put the brand in front of two audiences at once. The ESPN broadcasts reach a national household audience, the parents and families who decide where to shop. The League Ready repurposing reaches the high-school-age followers of a channel built around elite prep sports. Ace has not commented publicly on the strategy behind the activation.
The move extends a visible climb in Ace’s sports investment. In April 2025, Ace became Major League Baseball’s official hardware and home improvement retail partner in a three-season deal, per Sportcal, which included a branded “Yard Superstars” feature celebrating defensive plays in national broadcasts, according to MLB’s announcement. Helpful Player follows the same in-game content playbook, applied to high school football. Ace CMO Kim Lefko has said the company will not outspend its two largest competitors and treats consistency as its advantage, per Chief Marketer. Statista pegged Ace’s worldwide advertising spend at roughly $300 million in 2023.
Where Home Depot and Lowe’s Put Their Sports Dollars
The two larger chains anchor the category’s spending several levels up. Home Depot became title sponsor of ESPN’s College GameDay in June 2003, per company announcements, and added an official NCAA partnership in March 2024 covering all 90 championships in a three-year deal alongside CBS Sports and TNT Sports, per the NCAA. Home Depot reported net advertising expense of $1.3 billion in fiscal 2025, per company disclosures, more than four times Ace’s Statista-estimated total.
Lowe’s has been the NFL’s official home improvement sponsor since 2019, per company releases, and became presenting sponsor of NBC’s Football Night in America for the 2025 season, according to its September 2025 announcement. Its closest youth touchpoint runs through soccer: in January 2026, Inter Miami CF named Lowe’s presenting partner of the Dreams Cup, a youth fútbol event, as part of an expanded club partnership, per the club’s announcement. Neither retailer lists a high school football property among its announced sports partnerships.
Saturday Is Taken, Sunday Is Taken, Ace Showed Up Friday
The home improvement category has effectively sorted itself onto the football calendar: Home Depot on college Saturdays, Lowe’s on NFL Sundays, and now Ace on high school Friday nights. What remains unknown is the shape of the Ace deal itself: its length, its cost, and whether it extends past opening week. The absence of any announcement leaves open whether this was a one-week test or the first visible piece of a season-long commitment, and ESPN’s high school football schedule runs deep into December.
- Source: ESPN Press Room, https://espnpressroom.com/press-release/espn-high-school-football-kickoff-returns-for-17th-year/
- Source: MLB, April 14, 2025, https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-ace-hardware-steps-up-to-the-plate-as-mlb-s-exclusive-hardware-home-improvement-partner
- Source: Sportcal, https://www.sportcal.com/news/mlb-adds-ace-hardware-to-sponsorship-ranks-in-three-season-deal/
- Source: The Home Depot, September 28, 2022, https://corporate.homedepot.com/news/company/home-depot-celebrates-20-seasons-building-espn-college-gameday
- Source: NCAA, March 12, 2024, https://www.ncaa.org/news/2024/3/12/media-center-the-home-depot-announces-partnership-with-ncaa.aspx
- Source: Lowe’s, September 4, 2025, https://corporate.lowes.com/newsroom/press-releases/lowes-teams-nfl-superstars-launch-earn-your-sunday-encouraging-fans-get-projects-done-game-day-09-04-25
- Source: Inter Miami CF via PR Newswire, January 16, 2026, https://www.barchart.com/story/news/37082850/inter-miami-cf-and-lowe-s-renew-partnership-as-lowe-s-becomes-a-main-partner-official-jersey-sleeve-partner-founding-partner-of-miami-freedom-park
- Source: Chief Marketer, https://www.chiefmarketer.com/ace-hardware-cmo-says-consistency-from-marketing-to-store-floor-wins/
- Source: Statista, Ace Hardware worldwide advertising spending
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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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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.
