OpenSponsorship
OpenSponsorship is a sports influencer platform for athlete sponsorships and managed campaigns.
Analyst Perspective
OpenSponsorship is a private US company operating a sports-focused influencer marketing and sponsorship platform. It connects brands and agencies with athletes, teams and sports creators, offering discovery, messaging, contracting, escrow payments, campaign execution and reporting. The business sits between MarTech software and managed influencer services, with a particular emphasis on athlete partnerships rather than general creator marketing. The company makes money primarily from recurring subscription plans sold to brands, marketing teams and agencies that want either platform access or more hands-on campaign management. Athletes appear to join for free, which indicates a demand-side monetisation model where brand budgets fund the platform. Its core value proposition is reducing the friction of sourcing, vetting, negotiating and paying sports talent for sponsorship and influencer campaigns.
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Key insights about OpenSponsorship
Category Differentiation
OpenSponsorship is not a sports team, talent agency or media owner. It is a B2B software and managed service platform for sourcing and running athlete sponsorship and influencer campaigns.
OpenSponsorship: About
OpenSponsorship runs a hybrid marketplace and software-enabled service model. It aggregates a supply base of athletes, teams and creators on one side, then sells brands and agencies access to that talent pool through workflow software and managed campaign services on the other. Value is created by making athlete discovery, deal flow, contracting, payment protection and reporting more efficient than manual sponsorship sourcing. The company appears to monetise the demand side rather than charging talent to participate.
How OpenSponsorship Works & Monetises
Business model analysis and core revenue streams
The company uses a hybrid monetisation model centred on recurring subscriptions and managed service fees. Public pricing evidence shows monthly plans for managed offerings, including a Full-Service tier at $2,000 per month and an Elite tier at $5,000 per month. Platform access is bundled with varying levels of human support, campaign strategy and execution. The evidence also suggests possible transaction-related or campaign execution fees embedded in sponsorship workflows, especially given the escrow payment layer, but the exact take-rate structure is not publicly specified.
Revenue Channels
Products & Services in Categories
Verified structural categorizations from the graph
Recent Signals (OpenSponsorship)
Nano vs Micro vs Mega Influencers: What 1,527 Creator Campaigns Reveal About Cost and ROI
New blog post analyzing influencer pricing data from 1,527 campaigns.
Read original sourceCoronavirus Stopped All Sports. Will it Crush Sports Marketing This Year?
Amid the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, American pro sports halted play as the NBA, NHL and Major League Soccer suspended seasons, and MLB delayed spring training and opening-day games, with the ATP canceling tournaments for six weeks. The article notes that shifting schedules could affect sponsorship and advertising revenue, even if games were played in near-empty arenas, and underscores the potential for force majeure provisions to manage refunds, credits, or replacement inventory. League officials and attorneys warn a prolonged disruption could deal a heavy blow to ad sales, while optimism remains that postponements are driven by social responsibility rather than a broader economic collapse; pent-up demand could follow once the country recovers. The NCAA’s March Madness remains immovable due to pre-booked TV airtime and venues. Brands may pivot to athlete- and content-driven sponsorships, and platforms like OpenSponsorship are highlighted as avenues to maintain visibility during the pause.
Read original sourceHow Sperry Entered The World Of Athlete Influencers
AdExchanger reports Sperry ran its first sports marketing effort in Q4 2019, partnering with Bleacher Report and OpenSponsorship to test athlete influencers. The program featured NFL player Justin Bethel, NBA player J.J. Barea, a minor-league baseball player, and Olympic athletes in luge, skiing, and gymnastics, aiming to boost engagement for Sperry's duck boots. Sperry had previously invested in men's style influencers but saw worse ROI. OpenSponsorship connects brands with athletes and lists about 6,000 athletes across 160 sports; it charges a monthly subscription fee, with optional performance incentives, and derives over 90% of revenue from subscriptions. Ishveen Anand, founder and CEO of OpenSponsorship, notes the platform's value for brands and athletes. Melissa Romig, Sperry's digital director, said the campaign delivered strong ROI and that Sperry plans another athlete-influencer campaign, while acknowledging size-fit challenges with NBA players.
Read original sourceOpenSponsorship: Frequently Asked Questions
What is OpenSponsorship?
OpenSponsorship is a sports-focused influencer marketing platform that helps brands find, contract and manage athlete sponsorship campaigns.
Who uses OpenSponsorship?
Its main paying users are brands, in-house marketers and agencies running athlete or sports creator campaigns, while athletes and teams use the platform to access opportunities.
How does OpenSponsorship make money?
It mainly earns revenue from monthly subscription-based managed service plans and platform-related campaign management fees charged to brands.
Company Facts
- Founded
- 2016
- Headquarters
- United States
- Core Segment
- Agency & Consultancy
- Company Size
- <10
- Official Link
- opensponsorship.com