OpenSponsorship says female athletes win most brand deals as average deal size doubles

By AI, Created 5:00 PM UTC, May 18, 2026, /AGP/ – OpenSponsorship released its 2026 State of Athlete and Influencer Marketing Report on May 14, using data from 14.9 million creator posts and a decade of deal history. The report says brands are misreading creator performance, even as athlete partnerships get larger and female athletes capture most deals.

Why it matters: - OpenSponsorship says brands are shifting more money into athlete and creator marketing as major sports moments, women’s sports growth and NIL expansion create a bigger pool of sponsorship opportunities. - The report argues that marketers may be optimizing for the wrong success metric, which could affect how brands choose partners and spend campaign budgets. - The average deal size on the platform doubled year over year, suggesting brands are committing more money to managed athlete partnerships.

What happened: - OpenSponsorship released its 2026 State of Athlete and Influencer Marketing Report on May 14 in New York. - The report uses a decade of deal data and analysis of more than 14.9 million pieces of creator content. - OpenSponsorship is backed by Serena Williams and David Blitzer. - The company says female athletes now account for 75% of deals on the platform. - Track and field and golf led female-athlete deal volume. - Marathon runners were the fastest-growing category for 2026.

The details: - Average deal size rose from about $2,500 in 2024 to $5,147 in 2025. - The average number of social posts per deal increased from 2.9 to 3.5, a 20% gain. - Non-athlete deals grew 7x between 2024 and 2025. - Brands added podcasters, wellness influencers, lifestyle creators and NIL college athletes to their rosters. - Athlete creators averaged 10.97% engagement across social platforms. - Traditional influencers averaged 4.92% engagement. - OpenSponsorship found that average engagement rate can be a poor predictor of campaign success. - The report says the gap between a creator’s average engagement rate and topic-specific engagement rate can be 4x or more. - A creator averaging 1% engagement overall may reach 6% or higher on posts about topics the audience cares about. - Health and wellness was the fastest-growing non-sport creator category. - Brands are targeting women over 40 posting about menopause, hormonal health and longevity. - OpenSponsorship says that demographic consistently outperforms engagement benchmarks.

Between the lines: - The report points to a market moving from broad reach toward more specific audience fit and post-level performance. - Female athletes and health-focused creators appear to be benefiting from advertiser demand for trusted, niche communities. - OpenSponsorship’s message is that account-level averages can hide strong topic-specific performance, which could reshape how sponsorships are priced and selected. - The report frames 2026 as an inflection point because the FIFA World Cup will come to North America while women’s sports and NIL continue to expand.

What’s next: - OpenSponsorship expects 2026 to be a major year for sports marketing investment. - The company says brands that build athlete and creator rosters now will have an advantage as World Cup campaigns, women’s sports deals and NIL partnerships accelerate. - Ishveen Jolly said the technology to measure post-level performance already exists, suggesting more brands may move away from account-level engagement metrics.

The bottom line: - OpenSponsorship’s report says the winners in 2026 are likely to be brands that buy into female athletes, niche creator communities and more precise performance data, not just big follower counts.