50MM: Katie Ledecky Ranked 21st Most Marketable Athlete of 2022
Portuguese soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the most marketable athlete on the planet for 2022, with the Manchester United player coming out on top in SportsPro’s latest global rankings. Meanwhile, Katie Ledecky ranked No. 21, an impressive feat in an non-Olympic year.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, 37, secured a commanding Marketability Score of 91.21 out of a possible 100, putting him some distance ahead of now-retired tennis star Serena Williams in second and seven-time Formula One world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton in third.
Now in its 13th year, SportsPro’s 50 Most Marketable (50MM) platform enables sports marketers to make intelligent sponsorship decisions through the application of comprehensive data analysis, advanced social media monitoring, economic valuations, and consumer insights.
This year’s updated ranking methodology, developed in partnership with NorthStar Solutions Group, was devised to paint the most complete picture of athlete marketability in the sports industry, combining on-field performance and off-field factors such as personal brand development, audience reach and engagement, and social impact.
With 22 women on the list, the 2022 ranking is the most gender-diverse yet. The continued rise of women’s soccer globally proved a defining factor, with Chelsea forward Sam Kerr, the joint-face of EA Sports’ FIFA 23 game this year, the highest new entry at number nine.
As in previous years, soccer remains the most prominent sport represented in the ranking with 17 players, while tennis is second with nine. A total of 14 Americans and seven former number ones also feature, with gymnast Olivia Dunne, ranked 44th, the only college athlete to make the list. The average age of the athletes is 30, which is higher than ever before, while Nike boasts 22 sponsored athletes in the list, more than any other brand.
Dunne’s compatriot and fellow gymnast Simone Biles, ranked number one in 2021, drops to 11th this year. Only three athletes who featured in last year’s top ten retained their place among the top-ranked names – Ronaldo, Naomi Osaka and Alex Morgan.
Michael Long, Editorial Director at SportsPro said: “Who is the most marketable athlete on the planet today? We at SportsPro have asked ourselves that very question every year since 2010, and each year the process of answering it provides a fascinating snapshot of the business of athlete marketing.
“Marketability can be defined in many ways, but what’s clear from our in-depth assessment is that each of the athletes in this year’s diverse list delivers considerable value to their brand partners. Not only are they elite, highly visible performers in their respective sports, their individual reach and influence and, in many cases, willingness to speak out on social issues positions them as ideal ambassadors for companies seeking to communicate authentically to consumers.”
Chris Collins, President at NorthStar said: “NorthStar is excited to present this year’s 50 Most Marketable Athletes list. SportsPro and associated partners have a long-standing history of providing compelling, insightful and thought-provoking content around athlete marketability and I’m honoured to be part of forwarding that tradition.
“I’m endlessly proud of our team here at NorthStar and thankful for the commitment and contributions of our partners at SportsPro, D-Tag Analytics, Zoomph and SponsorPulse who helped make the 2022 50 Most Marketable Athletes list possible. I am looking forward to the next couple of years as we continue our partnership with SportsPro and other interested partners to evolve the list and be at the forefront of the ever-changing conversation around athlete marketability.”
SportsPro’s 50 Most Marketable Athletes 2022 – the Top 10:
- Cristiano Ronaldo, Soccer, 37
- Serena Williams, Tennis, 41
- Lewis Hamilton, Motorsport, 37
- LeBron James, Basketball, 37
- Lionel Messi, Soccer, 35
- Naomi Osaka, Tennis, 25
- Virat Kohli, Cricket, 33
- Alex Morgan, Soccer, 33
- Sam Kerr, Soccer, 29
- Tom Brady, Football, 45
To view the full list of the World’s 50 Most Marketable Athletes, head over to SportsPro’s dedicated 50MM content hub at www.sportspro50mm.com. Join in the conversation on social media using the hashtag #SP50MM.
50MM: The Methodology
Athletes are ranked according to their ‘Marketability Score’, which is split into three distinct scoring components: Brand strength, Audience and reach, and Economics. These weighted scores have been added together to generate an overall Marketability Score out of 100, with each athlete assigned a proportionate score in relation to the top performer for each metric.
The brand strength score, which carries a maximum score of 20, is determined by individual factors such as an athlete’s competitive performance, citizenship and risk profile. Audience and reach – with a maximum score of 50 – comprises factors such as brand awareness and focus, follower engagement and demographic reach, and consumer perception and sentiment.
Meanwhile the economics score, which carries a maximum score of 30, goes beyond the traditional financial measure of ROI to assess market demand for the athlete, their proactive engagement with social or environmental issues, and growth potential.
How is the 50 Most Marketable Athletes list generated?
In order to be considered eligible for this year’s list, an athlete must have been active during the evaluation period (1st December 2021 to 31st July 2022) in one of the 24 sports analysed*. They must have also been listed as a primary starter if competing in a team sport, actively training for upcoming Olympic competition, or participating in annual World Championships.
In order to pare down the full eligible athlete population to a plausible list of most globally marketable athletes, a starter list of athletes was compiled based on:
- Any athlete that featured in SportsPro’s 50 Most Marketable Athletes list in 2021
- The top ten performing athletes rated on current rankings based on ratings available on leagues’ official websites or publicly available sports statistical databases
- Any athlete that has appeared on recent sport and non-sport lists and award shows, etc. (e.g. ESPY Awards, Forbes’ Highest Paid Athletes, Best Dressed, Most Influential, Most Philanthropic, vocal on DEI & ESG related topics, influencer in trending social values, etc.)
This initial analysis produced a starter list of 700 athletes. Due to the scarcity of comprehensive and holistic athlete data sets, the following screening elements were added to further pare down the list:
- Did the athlete generate a significant amount of coverage of web and social media conversation from both fans as well as media outlets?
- Did the athlete consistently appear on the personal brand development lists outlined above?
- Did the athlete raise any immediate red flags from a brand risk assessment?
This process generated a list of 120 athletes to conduct a full, in-depth analysis, before the above-mentioned scoring model was applied to arrive at this year’s 50 Most Marketable Athletes.
* American Football, Baseball, Basketball, Boxing, Cricket, Cycling, Esports, Field Hockey, Golf, Gymnastics, Mixed Martial Arts, Ice Hockey, Motorsports, Olympics, Paralympics, Rugby, Skateboarding, Skiing, Soccer, Surfing, Snowboarding, Tennis, Table Tennis, Track & Field. Note that this list takes into account multiple entities at a league level (e.g. we looked at five different global soccer leagues), gender specific leagues (basketball, golf, tennis, etc.), and levels of competition (e.g. college or pro).
What expertise was utilised to validate the ranking?
To compile this year’s 50 Most Marketable Athletes list, NorthStar led a multi-disciplinary team with expertise in sports, marketing, social, and data science. Specialist data partners D-Tag Analytics, SponsorPulse and Zoomph contributed valuable data and analytics that fed into the scoring metrics and shaped the final ranking. An added layer and acid test of insights from consumers and experts helped ensure the validity and robust nature of the metrics.