F1 tops Premier League sponsorship

Formula 1 sponsorship is booming. That part is real. But the viral version of this story got a little slippery — it mixed different buckets, and that makes the headline sound cleaner than the underlying numbers really are. The strongest public figure I could verify is that F1 teams generated $2.04 billion in sponsorship revenue in 2024, which put them behind only the NFL among major sports properties in SponsorUnited’s comparison. (sportspro.com) ### What number can we actually stand on? The clearest published figure is the SponsorUnited study covered in May 2025: Formula 1 teams brought in $2.04 billion in sponsorship revenue in 2024. That topped four of the five major U.S. leagues and trailed only the NFL at $2.49 billion. I could not verify the more dr(sportspro.com)did find is a separate SportBusiness data point showing Formula 1’s *central* sponsorship income at about $445 million in 2024 — a different bucket entirely. (sportspro.com) ### Why does the bucket matter so much? Because “Formula 1” can mean at least two things commercially. It can mean the championship itself — the central rights holder selling global partners like LVMH and DHL. Or it can mean the ten teams selling title sponsors, sleeve patches, tech partners, crypto deals, and re(sportspro.com)r League and you get another. That is why viral sponsorship rankings often sound precise but hide apples-to-oranges math. (formula1.com) ### So why is F1 growing this fast? Basically, F1 sells three things brands love. It is global. It is live. And it travels. The sport said its global fanbase reached 827 million in 2025, up 12% year over year and 63% versus 2018. Liberty Media’s 2025 results also showed sponsorship rising to 21.7% of Formula One’s primary(formula1.com)n sponsorship is not just growing in absolute dollars; it is becoming a bigger piece of the business mix. (formula1.com) ### What does that look like on the ground? It looks like a packed sponsor wall. Tech was the biggest sector in F1 team sponsorship revenue at $543 million in the SponsorUnited study. It also looks like long-duration premium deals at the top of the pyramid — F1’s official partner page high(formula1.com)hospitality inventory, and year-round content, they pay for more than a logo on a car. (sportspro.com) ### Where does the IPL fit into this? The IPL is the other useful comparison because it shows how scarce live sports inventory gets repriced when demand spikes. BCCI’s 2023–2027 media-rights sale totaled about ₹48,390 crore. With 410 matches in the cycle, that works out to roughly ₹118 crore per match — about $14(sportspro.com)h basis. SportBusiness also noted the IPL’s central sponsorship value reached ₹810 crore in 2022. (bcci.tv) ### Why does that matter beyond bragging rights? Because sponsorship strength feeds everything else. It supports richer team valuations, tougher media-rights negotiations, and more confidence that a sport can keep stacking premium partners witho(bcci.tv)ed into the commercial weight class of the biggest sports properties on earth. (sportspro.com) ### Bottom line The viral comparison is shakier than it looks. The underlying trend is not. F1 sponsorship has become enormous — and that is what brands, teams, and rival leagues actually need to pay attention to.