Ever Expensive, Ever Popular – Sports Licensing Grows
Sports Licensing Grows Astronomically
A cut sequence in the movie Gladiator (2000) had the protagonist accepting merchandising licensing deals for popular products. While that might sound bizarre, actor Russel Crowe confirmed its inclusion (and removal) in a 2023 interview. Efforts to determine its historical accuracy are still ongoing.
Coca-Cola and Oreo
Gladiatorial combat might be considered a sport – and we’re all familiar with sports’ love of merchandising, licensing, and other tricks that touch all this century’s products. Sports’ star is still rising, dethroning fashion in 2022 to claim 11% of the global licensing industry. A 2024 report from License Global indicates food, games, and entertainment are the most likely, other areas to accept licensing deals.
In August last year, Coca-Cola and Oreo teamed up to put their names on each other’s products. This gave us a red Oreo. Gaming has also seen collaborations between TV shows and slot game franchises. The Deal or No Deal Lightning Spins game includes imagery from the popular program, Deal or No Deal, keeping it in the public consciousness and a fan favourite even during the 2016-2023 cancellation.
Arguably, sports’ most lucrative licensing avenue is apparel. Younes Layati of the clothing company Fanatics told License Global that “product” is one of the primary ways for teams to connect with their audience “above and beyond matchdays.” Fanatics currently provides licensed jerseys for the NFL and WWE, F1, and football.
‘Replica’ and ‘Authentic’
Jerseys offer a useful case study for why sports licensing brings in the money. Brand Licensing Europe indicates that the value of sports licensing grew 5.6% in the year to 2023, to $39.5bn. At the heart of all this is the ever-increasing price of replica shirts.
Official jerseys cost £29.99 when the Premier League was founded in 1992, and an entire Manchester United kit sold for £50. Today, the same shirt costs £80. Separating so-called ‘replica’ and ‘authentic’ shirts increases the cost to £100, again, just for the top. Put another way, prices have tripled, according to research from the HobbyFC website.
The same source notes that prices have increased roughly in line with inflation, although, due to an increase in material quality over the years, the modern jersey may represent a better deal than the early ’90s version. The question is, with similar non-branded outerwear coming in much cheaper, how much does a license cost to justify such a high price?
Virtual Sportswear
While digital marketing and licensing aren’t exactly new in 2025, shifts in how people consume content mean it’s an ever-evolving space. A few years ago, Adidas delved into the ‘metaverse’ by selling its Originals brand as digital property, otherwise known as NFTs. It did something similar in 2024 with pictures of trainers. Nike, Asics, and Puma have tried something similar.
Like our example of Maximus hawking olive oil in Ancient Rome, selling virtual sportswear might sound a bit silly. Yet it’s one way to confirm the authenticity of physical products – each pair of trainers and their online counterparts are unique.
Digital licensing might yet be an untapped resource for sports brands.
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