Second in our series on the roles that drive the global sports industry.
When you see the Emirates logo on Real Madrid’s shirt, Rolex’s name on the US Open scoreboard or Red Bull in virtually every corner of the Formula 1 paddock, you are seeing the result of years of negotiation, strategy and relationship management. Behind each of those agreements is a professional whose job is to build the bridge between brands and sport. They are called a Sports Sponsorship Manager, and their role is one of the most influential and best-compensated in the entire industry.
What does a Sports Sponsorship Manager actually do?
A Sports Sponsorship Manager is responsible for developing, selling and managing the sponsorship agreements of a sports organisation. Their work spans two major dimensions that require very different but equally critical skills.
The first is sales. The Sports Sponsorship Manager identifies brands with sponsorship potential, builds personalised value propositions, negotiates the terms of the agreement and closes contracts that can range from a few thousand euros to tens of millions. It is a demanding commercial process that requires prospecting ability, negotiation skill and a deep understanding of both the sports asset being represented and the potential sponsor’s business.
The second is management. Once the agreement is signed, the Sports Sponsorship Manager becomes responsible for ensuring the sponsor receives exactly what they contracted. They coordinate activations at the venue, manage image and content rights, organise exclusive experiences for the sponsor’s clients and produce impact reports that demonstrate return on investment. It is a continuous relationship management role that does not end with the signing of the contract but begins at that moment.
What contexts does a Sports Marketing Manager work in?
Sports Sponsorship Managers work across three main types of organisations within the sports industry.
At clubs and sports organisations, managing the club’s sponsor portfolio from the main shirt sponsor to official suppliers in each category. At leagues and federations, where sponsorship agreements operate at a larger scale and greater complexity, encompassing naming rights, competition sponsorships and licensing agreements. And at sports marketing agencies specialising in rights representation, where the Sponsorship Manager acts as intermediary between sports assets and the brands that want to associate themselves with them.
There is also a less visible dimension of the role: sponsorship from the brand side. Many companies have internal sports sponsorship teams that manage their investments in sport from the sponsor’s perspective, deciding which sports, teams or events to invest in and how to activate those investments to maximise their return.
What tools and skills does the role require?
The Sports Sponsorship Manager combines commercial skills with deep industry knowledge and analytical capability to demonstrate the value of their agreements.
They work with sponsorship impact measurement tools such as Nielsen Sports or Sponsorship Intelligence, commercial relationship management and CRM platforms, and proposal and commercial presentation software. They also use audience analysis and demographic data tools to argue the value of the assets they represent.
But beyond the tools, the skills that define a great Sports Sponsorship Manager are fundamentally human. The ability to build long-term trust-based relationships with sponsors and partners. The capacity to understand the sponsor’s business as well as the sports asset itself. The tenacity to manage long and complex sales cycles. And the creativity to design proposals that genuinely connect a brand’s values with the values of a club, a league or an event.
Why is this role so critical to the industry?
Because sports sponsorship is one of the largest industries within the sports industry. Globally, the sports sponsorship market generates over 60 billion dollars a year, and that number has not stopped growing. For many clubs and sports organisations, sponsorship revenues represent between 30 and 50 percent of total turnover. Without sponsorship, the professional sport business model as we know it simply does not exist.
At a time when brands are looking to connect with their audiences in increasingly authentic and experiential ways, sport remains one of the most powerful vehicles for doing so. And the Sports Sponsorship Manager is the professional who makes that connection possible.
How do you build a career as a Sports Sponsorship Manager?
Most professionals arrive at this role from commercial sales, sports marketing or event management positions within industry organisations. Education in sports management provides the conceptual framework and industry knowledge that allows you to understand the value of sports assets and speak the language of brands at the same time.
A career in sponsorship is built agreement by agreement, relationship by relationship. The early years typically involve managing smaller-scale sponsors and participating in sales processes supervised by more experienced professionals. Over time, as results accumulate, responsibility grows towards larger agreements and more strategic relationships.
At ESBS we prepare you to enter the sports sponsorship industry with strategic vision, commercial tools and a network that makes a difference from day one.
Become the sports industry leader the game needs. Explore our programmes at ESBS.