Since collegiate athletes earned the right to exploit their names, images, and likenesses (NIL) last July, many companies have materialized to guide them in this new pursuit. These organizations include individual and group licensing agents specializing in NIL, marketplaces that matchmake athletes with corporate partners, platforms to educate athletes on the dos and don’ts of […]
Archive | Sports
Toward Gender Parity?
One of the predictions earlier this year, when collegiate athletes gained the ability to commercially exploit their names, images, and likenesses (NIL), was that the change would ultimately give female athletes as many opportunities as their male counterparts to generate revenue, something that hasn’t been true in professional sports to date. While it is still […]
Taking a Shot at Pot
Athletes associated with the NBA have been active in the cannabis sector in the past few months. Sports properties have had a strong presence since partnerships with licensed IP began in this industry in earnest around 2015. The difference with these recent deals is that they focus on marijuana strains and related products rather than […]
Trading Card Transformations
The trading card industry has been experiencing a number of changes this year, from skyrocketing interest in collecting, to decades-long licensing agreements changing hands, to the emergence of new opportunities including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and collegiate name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights. Some of the key trends to watch: A pandemic-fueled rise in popularity. Interest […]
Athletes Ace Tenniscore Trend
Apparel, accessories, and footwear items taking their inspiration from the sport of tennis—pleated tennis skirts, tennis dresses, skorts, preppy polo shirts, V-neck sweaters, and the like—have been hot commodities in the fashion industry this year. Brands such as Adidas and Nike are involved, but so are designers and labels such as Tory Burch and Dior. […]
Playing Dress-Up
When esports teams, leagues, and other organizations first entered the apparel licensing game, they started by working with specialty companies dedicated to esports. As awareness levels among mainstream consumers rose, they began pairing with the big sportswear companies, especially those that were licensees of traditional sports IP owners such as the U.S. major leagues or […]
Consequences of Commercialization
A Licensing University session called “Spotlight: Sports Licensing,” produced by Licensing International and held as part of Licensing Expo in late August, hit on a number of current trends impacting the sports licensing landscape. One interesting topic that came up in the presentation, moderated by the late Bill Burke, senior VP marketing strategy and communications […]
Football Kits Hit the Right Notes
Musicans and football (soccer) organizations have come together in the past for a variety of commercial ventures. In some cases, singers and bands have offered clubs the rights to their songs, while in others the partners have jointly created one-of-a-kind kits for use on the field and for sale to fans. When it comes to […]
The Ball Is In Collegiate Athletes’ Court
College athletes have been able to capitalize on their names, images, and likenesses (NIL) for less than a month, as the NCAA, on July 1, suspended its NIL rules. They are quickly taking advantage of the new opportunities. The process of getting to this point began back in 2009 when former UCLA basketball player Ed […]
Characters Qualify for the Olympics
Licensed characters are playing a starring role this year in promoting national Olympic teams, Olympic sports, the Tokyo Olympic Games, and the Olympic spirit in general, both officially and non-officially. There is still some uncertainty surrounding the event, which is set to kick off on July 23, after a year-long pandemic delay, amid rising numbers […]