Fifth annual report identifies the trends, communities, and real-time signals helping brands connect with one of the fastest-growing audiences in sports.
Genius Sports Limited (NYSE: GENI), a global leader in real-time sports data, today released the fifth edition of The Fan Project – the longest-running and first-of-its-kind report series dedicated to examining the commercial value of women’s sports fandom.
In the latest report, Turning Culture Into Commerce, Genius reveals trends that come to life uniquely in the women’s sports fan community and how they are converging to drive growth. The free report can be downloaded here.
Among the report’s findings:
- Partnering with female athletes drives outsized returns. Fans of women’s sport are 3x more likely than fans of men’s sport to buy from player-created brands — proving that athlete alignment goes further, and converts harder, in women’s sport than anywhere else. (Full year, 2025)
- Athletes can elevate brand partnerships into brand phenomena. Following Alex Morgan’s Bobbie campaign, fans of women’s sport increased their spend with the brand by 33% — a masterclass in how authentic athlete storytelling translates directly to the bottom line.
- Women’s sports fans who game are the sportsbook industry’s most overlooked growth audience. Women’s sports fans who play video games are 3.2x more likely than the general population to place a sportsbook bet — making them a high-intent, primed-to-convert segment that the industry has barely touched.
- Women’s sports have cracked the code on borderless fandom. Only 7% of women’s sports fans follow a team because they live nearby, compared to 30% of men’s sports fans — bound by values, not zip codes, making it one of the most scalable and digitally native fan bases in sports.
- Women’s sports fans don’t just want to watch — they want an experience. Fans of women’s sport are 2.6x more likely to attend concerts and festivals than general sports fans, signaling a massive, unmet appetite for brands willing to create immersive moments around the game.
- Supporting a local women’s sports team is now a national brand play. Minnesota Aurora attracted investors from all 50 U.S. states and 19 countries. Angel City FC ships merchandise to 80+ countries. Brands that back local women’s teams aren’t buying regional exposure — they’re buying into a global conversation.
Turning Culture Into Commerce uses Genius’ proprietary Fan Graph data to analyze actual fan spending and observational consumer behavior signals at scale, helping brands understand where women’s sports fandom is moving next and where to engage. The data-driven findings show that as women’s sports audiences grow, fans are spending, collecting, investing, playing, traveling, and engaging with athlete-led culture in ways that are reshaping the category’s commercial value.
“The next phase of women’s sports growth will be shaped by brands that understand fandom as a full consumer journey, not a single sponsorship moment,” said Gina Waldhorn, SVP, Marketing at Genius Sports. “Fans are telling us what they care about through how they spend, what they collect, who they follow, and when they engage. With the right intelligence, brands can move beyond visibility and start building deeper, more valuable connections around the moments that matter most.”
Emerging fan behaviors discovered by Genius that define the next phase of women’s sports fandom include: the rise of collectible culture, athlete-led trust economies, player ownership models, vulnerability as a brand asset, festival-style fan experiences, local clubs with global resonance, gaming as an on-ramp to betting, and the evolution of women’s sports merchandise into streetwear and cultural products.
These behaviors are backed by Fan Graph data, creating a strong business case for brands to invest in women’s sports properties.
“Women’s sports fans reward brands that show up with cultural fluency and a real understanding of the communities they are entering,” said Angela Ruggiero, four-time Olympic medalist and co-founder of Sports Innovation Lab. “This report gives brands a clearer view of where fandom is turning into behavior, where behavior is turning into commerce, and where the next opportunities for growth are taking shape.”
Turning Commerce Into Cuture also guides brands on how to authentically show up and leverage cool-factor areas that women’s sports uniquely have over men’s sports in modern pop culture. From Labubu’s to athlete-owned coffee shops, the report explores the creative canvas open to brands, representing an enormous opportunity to capture consumers and market share.
This latest release in the The Fan Project series – previously authored by Sports Innovation Lab, now a Genius Sports company – comes as live sports evolves into a scaled media environment, featuring emotionally charged moments that can be identified, activated, and measured in real time through the Genius Sports Moment Engine.
For women’s sports, where athletes, communities, and culture are shaping fandom in real time, this creates a new playbook for brands to build relevance, lift recall, and drive measurable commercial impact. Key guidance for brands to take them through the remainder of 2026 includes:
- Unleash data’s full force to tap into emotion. Prioritize reaching fans during emotionally charged moments that drive deeper engagement and stronger brand recall.
- Have systemic impact. Help close the investment gap in women’s sports by creating partnerships that deliver lasting value for athletes, teams, and fans.
- Connect through culture: Show up authentically within the communities, rituals, and cultural conversations that define women’s sports fandom.
Download Turning Culture Into Commerce here.
