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The esports industry is a booming, profitable industry that has been growing enormously in the past few years. With a 20%+ yearly growth rate, there's no telling how large it could get in the future.
Esports has been valued at over $100 billion worldwide with around 350 million people around the world watching it. Interest in esports reached not only interest regular gamers but professional sports leagues.
Professional sports leagues and organizations like the National Basketball Association (NBA) and others have taken notice of esports and its explosive growth. They see its potential to engage with a young, digitally-connected global audience.
The NBA 2K League is a competitive league where the fastest gamers from around the world compete in the newest installment of the NBA. The league has been known to foster some of the best talents in all of esports and is quickly becoming one of the most watched events within competitive gaming circles.
While interest in esports increased tremendously, a very large number of sponsors came to market. As a result, the number of organizations looking to sponsor esports events is increasing at a phenomenal rate. Companies are starting to see the potential in sponsoring esports teams or events. They see it as a way to reach an audience that they might not be able to reach otherwise, and they want their brands associated with this new form of entertainment that has become so popular among young people.
Advertising and media rights are the biggest sources of revenue for leagues and teams. Sponsorship is the second biggest source of revenue for esports leagues and teams. Many teams are not able to make it in professional esports due to the high costs of joining a league. League of Legends has a 10 million buy-in while Overwatch League has a 20 million buy-in for each team.
Just like any other type of sports, esports offers multiple paths to enter through partnerships with players, teams, teams' facilities, arenas, or broadcasts, this is why so many companies invest or plan to invest in esports, and the lead belongs to brands like Nike, Red Bull, KFC, MasterCard or BMW. The most popular categories of sponsors are in the automotive, finance, and food and beverage industries.
Esports is a new and exciting field of sponsorship. It's growing at an unprecedented rate, and it doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
esports sponsorship is a great way for companies to get in touch with their target demographic (the gamers) and to stay relevant in the gaming world.