A report from Sponsorship Today revealed that global sponsorship from beer brands has reached $1.4B per year. A major survey of the top 420 deals worldwide shows a spend level of $1.03B and it is estimated that smaller sports properties earn a further $400M from beer sponsorship. Sponsorship Today Editor Simon Rines said, "The findings show that the world’s top three brewers, ABInBev, SAB Miller and Heineken, account for the majority of spend. However, not all major beer brands use sport. Stella Artois, Becks and Skol, all in the top ten global brands, are not big users of sport." The report found that the U.S. accounted for half of all beer sponsorship spend with Bud Light’s NFL deal, worth $1B over six years, being the biggest deal in world sport. The U.K. is the second biggest recipient of beer sponsorship with an estimated $71M per year spent on sport. The report found no direct link between beer sponsorship spend and consumption. The NFL and int'l football are the biggest recipients of beer sponsorship in world sport and account for nearly 60% of all spend. Hockey, baseball and basketball make up the next three spots with motorsport in sixth place and earning more than $60M annually from brewers (Sponsorship Today).
