Barbie, Beyonce and Taylor Swift may have dominated center stage this year, but women’s sports reached a major inflection point prompting an inflow of investors.
One superstar stakeholder is Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, whose winnings and strategic endorsement earnings have paved the way for an investment portfolio that includes equity in women’s soccer and volleyball.
“You know, I think there’s such disparagement in how much money they invest in having us be successful down the road,” Vonn told Yahoo Finance “I think if you look at women’s basketball, everyone says, well, it’s not making money. How is this a profitable endeavor for us? But if you do invest, it is paying off. I’ve talked to several owners and they’re very optimistic about actually generating income, and the viewership ratings are going up, and there is a lot of momentum.”
This year, the WNBA Finals recorded its highest viewership in 20 years, the US Open celebrated 50 years of equal prize money to men’s and women’s winners, and the women’s World Cup exceeded ticket sales expectations just days into the late summer tournament.
Athletes and corporations are recognizing that now is the time to double down on investing in women and girls to narrow and hopefully close the gender wealth gap.
“It is great to see more attention being given to girls and women in sports, as mentioned,” Nike Chief Impact Officer Vanessa Garcia-Brito said. “But girls are still falling out so we need more and more of them to stay in to play, and not just because it’s good for the future of sport, but it’s because it’s good for the future of society.”
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Vonn also is an investor of her time
The champion alpine skier is the president of the Lindsey Vonn Foundation, which empowers underserved girls to grow as individuals across education, sport and the arts.
“We’re 50% sports, but 50% education,” Vonn said. “We do empowerment camps that really focus on trying to give girls the tools to be able to be confident in life, not in sports— but just to be able to walk around and know that they have something special.”
One success story that Vonn describes as ‘pretty incredible’ was a scholarship recipient who went to the Beijing Olympics for snowboarding.
Lindsey Vonn retired as the most decorated female ski racer with medal wins across Olympic events and world championships, and maintains her business partnerships with household brands like Red Bull, Under Armour and Head while describing her investment strategy as ‘very long term.’
“I’m looking 10 years down the road. So I’m not cashing out of anything,” Vonn said. “I mean, especially when you’re looking at investing in leagues or teams, that’s a very long term play. So you can ask my kids if my investments were correct.”
Brad Smith is an anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @thebradsmith.
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