An Executive Voices Blog by Eric Winston, President at Winners Alliance

Because of the established fan bases and significant infrastructure of the “Big Four,” many brand owners, manufacturers, and retailers are focused on sports like baseball, basketball, football, and hockey when they look to expand into sports licensing. But beyond these sports, there are incredible opportunities across the global landscape.

We’re bullish on the untapped opportunities that exist in global, historically fragmented sports as well as in North American sports played worldwide. Professional tennis is one sport we’re laser focused on—it has superstar athletes and billions of fans worldwide, but a historic lack of a single, large-scale group license has hindered its ability to develop licensed products. That means there’s a ton of white space. Other individual sports like track and golf are compelling for similar reasons.

Then there are team sports like cricket—another space we’re deeply focused on—and rugby, which have a foundation of athlete collectivism through their player unions but are in the nascent stages of organizing and commercializing their athletes’ group rights. Basketball and hockey are also interesting as two well-established, dominant sports in the U.S. that still have untapped commercial potential worldwide.

For example, tennis continues to surge in popularity in countries like China, India, and Brazil, while cricket is rapidly growing in the U.S., Italy, and Japan. This expansion, alongside the sports’ strong foundations in key markets like Europe and APAC, opens a wealth of creative athlete licensing possibilities worldwide. As these sports become increasingly global, group licensing will serve as an essential mechanism for optimizing their market value and protecting athletes’ rights.

What’s Winning Big?

We’re excited about the early successes we’ve seen with trading cards, video games, and hardlines (collectibles) in these global sports. In tennis, for example, the recent release of 2024 Topps Royalty Tennis featured trading cards with event-used racket knob embeds, which drummed up significant buzz among tennis fans and collectors alike.

The increased demand for licensed women’s sports products is also evident through our Fanatics partnership—the Topps trading cards feature men’s and women’s players, but many of the highest-selling and most sought-after cards feature women.

In cricket, we’re seeing strong momentum with mobile games, in particular. We recently partnered with two major mobile game developers in India, reflecting the increasing demand for athlete IP from companies in rapidly growing economies.

Overcoming Obstacles

To effectively break into a new sport, however, you have to establish a deep understanding of its unique retail and marketing landscape. Sports licensing is not “one size fits all” across all sports. This is especially true for global sports like tennis and cricket. A certain level of bespoke strategy is required to maximize the business opportunity, collaborate with athletes authentically, and engage fans meaningfully.

There may be learning curves when it comes to understanding a new sport’s organization, fan base, distribution networks, and promotional platforms, but the brand owners, manufacturers, and retailers that commit to understanding each sport’s landscape will be able to scale their business much more quickly and efficiently than those who want to take a cookie-cutter approach.    

Brands, manufacturers, and retailers can maximize potential in these emerging sports by collaborating and building with partners who have a deep understanding of, and connectivity across, the sport. Work with and lean on the experts who can mitigate the learning curve and who are truly invested in maximizing the impact of the partnership.

The Focus Moving Forward

As these sports continue to grow in reach, popularity, and economic viability, we expect them to become more athlete-centric through an increased demand for athlete IP from fans and partners alike. Fans will continue to look for new, meaningful ways to connect with their favorite athletes, driving up demand for licensed products. Continuous globalization and increasing disposable income in major developing countries will only multiply that demand.

To give you a specific example of how we envision the future, imagine you’re at a professional tennis tournament. If you walk into the tournament shop, you’ll see hundreds of items branded with the tournament’s name and logo, but no products featuring the athletes competing. Even if you search online, the same is true—there’s a major void in licensed athlete products. We see immense potential to transform this reality, forging a stronger connection between fans and the athletes they love, thus contributing to the overall growth and vibrancy of the sport.

Winners Alliance is a global, athlete-centric commercial solution dedicated to creating novel group licensing, sponsorship, partnership, content, investment, and event opportunities for world-class athletes collectively. Launched in August 2022, Winners Alliance serves as the for-profit affiliate of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), World Cricketers’ Association (WCA), EuroLeague Players Association (ELPA), and Grand Slam Track, representing the group commercial rights of hundreds of athletes worldwide. Among its pioneering initiatives, Winners Alliance aims to establish a sustainable group licensing program encompassing video games, trading cards, collectibles, and related opportunities. To learn more, visit www.winnersalliance.com