The engagement of pop superstar Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has created a seismic shift in the way teams think about their fan bases.
“We used to be about a 50-50 ratio, male-to-female fanbase,’ Chiefs principal owner Clark Hunt said during an appearance on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ in August. ‘Now 57 percent of our fans are female.’
Women sports fans have always been here, but marketing to women has long been dominated by the old-fashioned “shrink-it and pink-it” method that views female fans as an afterthought. However, leagues, teams and brands are starting to catch on to how essential women are not only to their fanbases, but to the global sports economy.
‘The shift is significant, not only because women have for a long time been avid sports fans, but because they’re also inheriting so much of the economic power,’ Thayer Lavielle, managing director of The Collective, the women’s division of sports, music and entertainment giant Wasserman, told USA TODAY Sports.
According to ‘The Collective Economy Part II: Her Fandom, Her Buying Power,’ a survey published Monday by The Collective, women sports fans make a majority of their household purchasing decisions (85%) and will control 75% of global discretionary spending by 2030, yet remain the most overlooked and untapped market in sports fandom.
The narrative around women sports fans is evolving. Kristin Juszczyk created her own sports apparel that merges fashion and fandom after noticing the limited options for women. Aunt Flow Free Period Care promotes inclusion by providing complimentary feminine products in bathrooms at sporting venues across North America and the UK through dispensers. The Golden State Valkyries tapped into community and culture by hosting a fashion show to showcase local Bay Area designers.
But the change is not happening quickly enough, according to the study, which collected data from more than 7,100 women across 10 countries. Sixty-six percent of women sports fans say sports organizations don’t understand or appeal to them.
‘For brands, leagues and teams, the question is no longer whether to thoughtfully engage women as fans — it’s whether you can afford not to,’ the study says.
‘Meet her where she’s at’
Although women are reshaping the landscape of sports fandom, the ecosystem continues to reflect the traditional patterns and habits of men. The Gender Equity Policy Institute reports women have about 13% less free time than men in the U.S., meaning women ‘fan’ differently, beyond stadiums and broadcasts.
‘How do you reach her in her daily life? It’s not like her fandom stops when the whistle stops,’ Lavielle said. ‘She doesn’t have the time to go to the stadium every week or even once a season. … If these teams and leagues can figure out how to more consistently bring them to her instead of requiring it the other way, we’ll forever be more loyal and spend more.’
Women sports fans crave authenticity and storytelling, leaning more toward an athlete’s journey, resilience and personality than their performance or stat lines. Let’s use F1’s Netflix docuseries ‘Drive to Survive’ for example, which created a new legion of fans due to the emotional connections viewers formed with the athletes.
‘These authentic stories spark identity and emotional connection and give her reason to root for her team and league in a deeper way,’ the study reads.
Mothers are engine of generational growth
Mothers hold undeniable influence over the next generation of sports fans. Nearly 50% of moms have played sports, fueling ‘new cycles of fandoms.’ About 90% of women sports fans that are mothers are heavily invested in their child’s youth sporting activities, an industry that generates a whopping $77B globally, shifting a pastime into a shared cultural experience. That translates to dollars.
A mother not only decides what to buy for herself, she also decides who she buys from and who she makes purchases for, including her family. According to the study, 92% of women around the world say family plays an important role in daily purchasing decisions and 92 % of women sports fans believe brands should support social causes, highlighting the inseparable link between family and values.
‘Meet her where she already is, and you don’t just win her loyalty — you win her household and the next generation of fans,’ the study says. ‘Mothers are not just consumers, they are the engine of generational growth. By nurturing participation and fandom, they ensure that the next generation not only plays the game but supports it as engaged, loyal fans.’
But women are not a monolith and although ‘mom-centric’ marketing is critical for mothers, it’s not the only role for women sports fans and can alienate others. Fifty percent of women sports fans who are not mothers also feel that brands do not understand them.
Read The Collective’s full survey here.
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