Women’s Sports Reach New Merch Milestones

Interest in women’s sports remains strong, as does demand for merchandise tied to women’s leagues, teams, and athletes. But product supply, variety, and quality continue to lag behind the men’s game. A few key milestones in the past year have contributed toward reducing some of these deficits, however: 

• In July, the Orlando Pride of the National Women’s Soccer League, with partner 500 Level, released the biggest-ever NWSL team apparel collection. The Pride became the first club to offer merchandise for every player on its roster. More than 500 player-specific t-shirts, hoodies, and other fan items were included in the assortment, available on the team’s e-commerce platform, ShopOrlandoPride.com. 

• Nike and Togethxr, an athlete-founded brand dedicated to elevating and advancing women’s sports, launched a new drop of their “Everyone Watches Women’s Sports” collection in March 2025 as part of the two companies’ ongoing partnership. The array included t-shirts, hoodies, and caps featuring that phrase, in black or white, available at Nike’s and Togethxr’s online shops, Nike’s physical stores, and at Dick’s Sporting Goods locations. The partners had launched a version of the Nike G.T. Hustle 3 tied to the theme previously. In February, Togethxr said 2024 revenues from its shirts, hoodies, and totes totaled $6 million; it moved 20,000 units of product during a three-day period at the end of the 2024 NCAA women’s basketball tournament. 

• University of Southern California Trojans star JuJu Watkins became the first women’s collegiate athlete to sign with Fanatics, in March 2025. The multiyear deal sees Watkins in her USC gear featured on trading cards and other memorabilia, from signed photos to basketballs to game-worn items. 

• The National Women’s Soccer League signed a new league retail partner, Rank + Rally, in May to upgrade its ecommerce presence and design new kits for its 14 clubs. The new merchandise generated record sales through that channel, the league said. In February, the NWSL announced another significant agreement when it partnered with U.K.-based Foudys, which specializes in football merchandise tied to women’s clubs. Foudys became the first retailer outside North America to carry home and away jerseys for every NWSL team.  

• In February, Unrivaled partnered with the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, giving the new women’s three-on-three basketball league the right to use player names and likenesses in its licensing and sponsorships. At the same time, Unrivaled paired with OneTeam Partners, which negotiates group-licensing rights for the WNBPA, to oversee its licensing efforts as well. Founded in part to allow WNBA players to earn money in the offseason without needing to play overseas, Unrivaled had revealed Under Armour as its official uniform and performance partner in December. 

• In October 2024, the WNBA saw its deal with Nike extended through 2037 as part of a broader agreement that also includes its sibling men’s organizations, the NBA, NBPA, and NBA G League. Nike, which remains on board as the on-court uniform and fan apparel provider for the WNBA, said it would deepen its investment in the women’s league during the 12-year extension. 

• The Professional Women’s Hockey League partnered with Lululemon for a collection that launched in April 2025. The debut merchandise paired a half dozen styles from the athleisure retailer—hoodies, crews, t-shirts, half-zips, jackets, and crossbody bags—with PWHL and team branding. Lululemon has been increasing its activity in sports licensing, but this represented its first agreement with a women’s pro sports team. The products were available initially only at PWHL venues. 

Global revenue generated by women’s sports nearly doubled from $981 million in 2023 to $1.88 billion in 2024, according to a March 2025 report from Deloitte, with projections for this year set at $2.35 billion. The total consists of game-day, media-rights, and commercial revenues; the last sector, which includes merchandise sales as well as sponsorships and other partnerships, surpassed $1 billion globally for the first time last year. While the U.S. market—the target for most of the initiatives listed here—accounts for 56% of total revenue, growth is coming from all geographic regions around the world.

RaugustReports will not publish on Monday, September 1, 2025, due to the U.S. Labor Day holiday. We’ll be back on our regular twice-weekly schedule on Thursday, September 4.