It’s an ‘incredible’ time for women’s professional sports, but there’s more room to grow

There’s a lot of momentum around women’s sports right now, as ad spending doubled in 2024 and the largest dedicated female sports fund recently announced it has expanded from $150 million to $250 million.

While these leaps and bounds are notable, more progress is needed to ensure this isn’t a fleeting moment—but rather the beginning of transformative change. Of course, more money always helps, too.

“Women’s sports is skyrocketing and it’s because we are more visible, more than ever, right now,” Stef Strack, founder and CEO of Voice in Sport, said during a panel discussion at the Fast Company Grill at SXSW. “Investors are looking at women’s sports as a growth opportunity, not a charity, and that is a really key moment.”

Deals flow to professional volleyball

And investors are putting a lot of money behind women’s sports. League One Volleyball (LOVB), a new professional women’s league with teams in six cities, raised $160 million through investors, according to Rosie Spaulding, the league’s president, which also has a youth-to-pro ecosystem with 60 youth clubs across 23 states. What’s more, to have a brand like Adidas partner with LOVB for a multimillion-dollar, multiyear deal is a sign of change, she said.

“When we first started League One Volleyball, I thought women’s sports were on the rise back in 2020,” Spaulding said. “I think now we can all say that they’re on fire.”

Another “really, really awesome” development is that professional athletes are able to build a brand and benefit from sponsorship deals from more brands that are interested in partnering with women in sports, added Logan Eggleston, who plays on the LOVB Austin team in the league’s inaugural season. She’s a partner with CELSIUS, maker of energy drinks, and that’s an added benefit to making a living playing the sport she loves.

“I didn’t know that professional volleyball was a thing when I was younger,” Eggleston said. “To be able to show those young athletes what they can potentially be one day, and then also provide resources and mentorship for them, is so incredible.”

A long way to go

But all three panelists noted that more change is needed—from the level of investment to media attention to addressing pay inequity to policy changes (and enforcement) around Title IX to an improved focus on the athlete experience.

“We’ve seen a ton of momentum, but right now we still have so much more progress to make,” Strack said. “There’s a lot of discrimination built into the current system, so we have to look fundamentally at everything in the ecosystem and think about, how do we reengineer it?” 

Strack rattled off various stats that show that more change is needed, including: only 10% of sports sponsorship dollars go to women athletes, no women landed in the top 100 list of  highest-paid athletes, and that 93% of schools at the collegiate level aren’t complying with Title IX, the federal civil rights law prohibiting discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities. 

“We have to think about what do we do at the grassroots level, what do we do at the professional level, and then what do we do on the federal policy side to really change things for girls and women in sports,” Strack told the audience.

Even more basic changes matter, Spaulding added, like giving women’s sports prime time slots or providing uniforms that actually fit women or fan gear that’s made for women. “Yes, there’s been more media, more investment through media, through private equity, through partnerships, et cetera,” she said. “But there’s a long way to go, and it’s all in the details.”

Why fan support matters

And buy-in from the fans is also important, Eggleston said. “They need to show up for women’s sports, they need to learn about the sports, educate themselves on the sports, get to know the athletes, the players that they’re getting to watch.”

And while equal pay would be “amazing,” Eggleston said if more female athletes become household names like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have in women’s basketball, that also moves the needle—and particularly if young boys grow up with female athletes as their favorite players.

“That would be so cool to see,” said Eggleston, who said she’s already experiencing the “perfect time” to be an athlete in women’s sports. “It’s so cool to be starting a league right now when the momentum is really, really just being driven forward. And I just can’t even imagine what’s going to be happening in the next five years.”

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