The brand strength of Major League Baseball grew in 2022, and the league expects even more revenue next year.

MLB notched an estimated $1.19 billion in 2022 sponsorship revenue between the league and its teams, according to consulting firm IEG — a 5.6% year-over-year increase.

• Banks, beer, insurance technology, automotive, telecom, apparel, betting, lottery, and gaming were the biggest spenders. 
• Anheuser-Busch InBev, T-Mobile, Nike, Coca-Cola, and Pepsi were among the companies spending the most on MLB deals.
• Capital One signed a reported five-year, $125 million deal with MLB in March to be the league’s official bank and credit card partner.

Crypto began to make its mark on the league with $22 million in deals with MLB, the New York Mets, the Texas Rangers, and the Washington Nationals.

MLB opened the year with 38 sponsors, notably adding CBD brand Charlotte’s Web this month, thus becoming the first major league with a cannabis brand sponsor.

MLB’s sponsorship revenue lags behind the National Football League ($1.8 billion) and National Basketball Association ($1.64 billion).

Patched Together

The league is expecting a strong new revenue stream as it allows jersey patch deals beginning in 2023. MLB and its players association agreed to the change in their collective bargaining agreement signed before the 2022 season. 

The San Diego Padres already have a deal in place with Motorola at a reported $10 million annually.

As the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar approaches, tension surrounding the event grows.

After human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell was allegedly arrested for an LGBT protest in Qatar to highlight the country’s treatment of the LGBT community, U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly shared his thoughts on LBC radio, claiming he’s “spoken to the Qatari authorities” about gay football fans attending the World Cup.

• Cleverly: “They want to make sure that football fans are safe, secure, and enjoy themselves” and added that Qatar knows they’ll “have to make some compromises.”
• Addressing fans, he added, “please do be respectful of the host nation.” The comment drew its own criticism. 

The protest followed Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani’s publicly expressed frustration over the criticism received by Qatar, which has spent an estimated $220 billion on the event.

“Qatar has been subjected to an unprecedented campaign that no host country has received,” he said. “The campaign continues, expands, and includes fabrications and double standards.”

Qatar’s Cry

There could be even more reasons for fans to criticize the Qatar World Cup. 

A man hiking from Spain to Doha for the tournament has reportedly been arrested in Iran after having been missing for over three weeks, his family said on Wednesday.

Days before the World Cup begins, Netflix will release “FIFA Uncovered,” a documentary that includes FIFA’s controversial bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Last year, the DOJ said officials working for Russia’s and Qatar’s bids bribed FIFA officials.

Women’s sports are more popular than ever — and China wants to compete at the highest level. 

The country’s General Administration of Sport has announced plans to bid to host the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup. 

The GAS will “aim to finish in the top three in the competition as well as at the 2032 Olympics” as it plans to develop and popularize women’s soccer in the country. 

• The Chinese Women’s Football Reform and Development Programme aims to steadily improve China’s women’s league system by 2025.
• Plans included 50 teams competing across three league divisions.
• China’s national team hopes to finish in the top eight at the 2023 World Cup. 

The reform and development plan —  backed by China’s Ministry of Finance and the Chinese Football Association — also includes increased overseas training and matches against foreign competition. 

World Cup Frenzy 

FIFA has rejected several bids for media rights to the 2023 Women’s World Cup for being too low, according to its chief business officer Romy Gai. 

FIFA has yet to name the broadcasters that submitted bids but rejected offers from Italy, Germany, France, and the U.K. It is also expected to deny a bid from Spain.

There won’t be a problem for women’s soccer fans Down Under, as Australian commercial broadcaster Seven Network has secured free-to-air media rights for the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

A sport that saw its popularity spike during the pandemic remains as strong as ever.

Disc golf has seen huge growth in the number of courses available and participation, particularly in the U.S.

• There were 5.28 courses built per day in 2021, according to a report from UDisc. The company counted 13,323 courses worldwide, up 15% from 2020, with 71% built in the last 10 years.
• UDisc’s app saw 17.2 million rounds of disc golf logged last year, a meteoric rise from 12 million in 2020 and 4 million in 2019.

The Disc Golf Pro Tour Championship, played earlier this month in Charlotte, North Carolina, had a total purse of more than $300,000, split evenly between the men’s and women’s championships. It was one of six purses worth at least $100,000 in 2022, per Disc Golf Pro Tour CEO Jeff Spring.

Spectator Sport

The Pro Tour’s Disc Golf Media Network has seen its streaming network subscriber count rise to around 50,000. While Tour content appears on CBS Sports and ESPN, the option to pocket revenue directly from fans presents difficult choices for the company.

“It’s a conflict, and we usually end up siding with our subscriber network and our partnerships with YouTube media companies,” said Spring, noting that events can total 2.5 million views across three YouTube partners.

However, national media may better appease corporate sponsors, which can be a boon to players, some of whom top $1 million in yearly earnings through endorsements.