How To Sell Team Transactions Content

👋 Welcome back to Sponcon Sports, a weekly newsletter dedicated to sponsored content strategy in the sports industry!

Last April, the New York Knicks rolled out a clever playoff activation: the Playoff Hotline presented by Verizon—a phone booth where fans could leave messages for the team throughout the postseason.

They even placed it outside KITH’s SoHo location, where KITH CEO and Knicks Creative Director Ronnie Fieg could help promote it.

Visit Philadelphia took that concept up a notch ahead of Super Bowl LIX.

They encouraged Philadelphia Eagles fans to make a Bird Call via custom-branded phone stations around the city or by dialing 267-352-4496 to leave a voicemail. This number also appeared on custom coasters distributed to local sports bars.

Those calls—both in person and over the phone—were turned into hype content leading up to the big game. The in-person moments, captured on camera, were a hit on Instagram, generating 458.8K views, 28.9K engagements, and a 6.3% engagement rate.

• Part 1 – 180K views, 6.3K engagements

• Part 2 – 85.8K views, 8.1K engagements

• Part 3 – 193K views, 14.6K engagements

Beyond racking up strong numbers, this was a brilliant way to spotlight the fanbase and capitalize on citywide excitement in the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. The series’ sharability (one of three important KPIs for Reels success according to Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri) proved just how much fans loved it—averaging 3,455 sends per post.

One smart touch? When they dropped the first episode, they teased a part two—a not-so-subtle way of saying, “Get involved, and you might be featured.”

The Takeaway? Don’t just create content to announce something exists. Think bigger. Build a strategy that turns an in-person activation into must-share content—something fans can’t wait to send to their friends. A great way to ensure this happens is to bring your content team into the planning conversation when it begins, rather than waiting until the activation is already in motion.

In Today’s Edition:

• Team Transactions Sales Guide 📑

• Blazers’ Game-Changing Tech 👀

• Shiels’ Break 75 Is aLIVe 🏌️

🏊️ DEEP DIVE
The Hidden Hurdle In Transaction Sponsorships

Here in the U.S., we’re in the heart of player movement season.

The NBA trade deadline just passed, the NHL trade deadline is approaching (3/7/25), and WNBA free agency is in full swing. Teams across all three leagues made headlines with blockbuster deals that captivated diehard and casual fans alike:

• Luka Dončić was shockingly traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers.

• Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall joined the Carolina Hurricanes in a three-team deal involving the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks.

• Jewell Loyd landed with the Las Vegas Aces, while Kelsey Plum was sent to the Los Angeles Sparks—the first WNBA trade involving multiple No. 1 overall picks.

These high-profile moves generate massive engagement—and that makes them prime real estate for digital partnerships.

According to Zoomph, the teams that landed star players in these blockbuster trades saw at least an 89% boost in social value over the 10 days post-trade:

• Lakers: +229% ($6.4M ➡️ $21.2M)

• Hurricanes: +89% ($592.7K ➡️ $1.1M)

• Aces: +235% ($157.6K ➡️ $529.4K)

• Sparks: +231% ($54.8K ➡️ $181.5K)

Why Team Transactions Are Valuable for Sponsors

Transaction posts (covering trades, free-agent signings, contract extensions, coaching hires, and player call-ups) consistently deliver:

• High reach and engagement per post.

• Multi-platform exposure (Facebook, X, Instagram, etc.).

• Year-round relevance beyond the regular season.

• Low-lift execution with mainly graphics-based content.

The Challenge: Selling the Platform

Despite its strengths, transaction sponsorships can be a tough sell:

1. Limited brand pool – Strong performance means higher valuations, ruling out budget-conscious brands.

2. Inconsistent volume – It’s hard to predict the number of posts as well as total impressions and engagement each year.

How To Overcome Performance Variance

Even for brands willing to pay, they need confidence in the investment. Here’s how to make the case:

Proactive Data Gathering

Before pitching, tag all transaction-related content—sponsored or not. This allows you to present historical data, showing the campaign’s best- and worst-case performance.

For example:

"Over the last four years, our transactions platform delivered 50–100 posts annually, generating 5M–13.5M impressions and 100K–225K engagements."

Proper Pricing

Use average impressions and engagements over the last few seasons to guide pricing. Some years, the partner may get a bargain; other years, it may feel like an overpay. In the end, we want to set ourselves up to have a renewal lead to potentially raising the price, not defending it.

Note – factors like supply and demand will impact how this package is valued. For more on pricing, check out my free guide here.

Building in a Performance Floor

To smooth out performance fluctuations, bundle transactions with assets that guarantee visibility:

• Draft Presenting Sponsorship – A more predictable, high-visibility moment.

• Roster Page Takeover (Website/App) – Full ownership of a high-traffic section.

• Behind-the-Scenes Content – Capture moments through photos and video of how a transaction happened as well as the first moments a new player has with the team (e.g. Preseason All-Access Series sponsorship, Saquon Barkley’s First 24 Hours With The Eagles, Chicago Bears x United Airlines - Path to the Bears, Zach LaVine’s arrival in Sacramento - see “Sponconspiration”).

This approach keeps a steady flow of brand exposure (given transactions’ peaks and valleys during the year), even when transaction volume dips.

Best Brands to Target

Some categories naturally align with transaction sponsorships:

• Jersey & Helmet Sponsors – Their logos naturally appear in player images, giving them built-in visibility, like the $2.3M in social value on this Lakers-Dončić announcement. Plus, they likely have the budget and a diverse mix of digital and non-digital assets, so a performance dip on this platform wouldn’t significantly impact their overall sponsorship value.

• Contextually Relevant Brands – Themed naming creates easy connections between brands and the content. Names like, “Building The Team with [Brand]”, “Roster Construction”, and “[Team Name] Moves/Acquisitions/Transactions” cover the following categories: Home Improvement, Employment Services, Moving Companies, Commercial Shipping and Logistics, Auto, Travel, Fitness, Financial/Fintech, and Law Firms (Mergers and Acquisitions).

The Takeaway

Sponsoring team transactions offers the chance to connect a brand with impactful moments throughout the year, but comes with performance variability.

The right brands will buy in, but closing the deal requires strong data, strategic packaging, and smart pricing. Done right, this platform can be a year-round sponsorship powerhouse.

🔍️ SPONCONSPIRATION
Steal These Ideas

[Social Value: $27,298] Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark stopped by the Gatorade Lab in New Orleans to showcase the power of proper hydration—while taking on a passing challenge.

[Social Value: $91,191] Last month, we highlighted the Portland Trail Blazers' partnership with Ticketmaster and OneCourt Technologies, making them the first pro team and arena to offer OneCourt’s haptic display at every home game. Last week, they teamed up with blind Paralympic athlete Anthony Ferraro to demonstrate how he uses the tech to experience the game.

[Social Value: $25,574] The Sacramento Kings turned Zach LaVine’s arrival into a sponsorship moment for multiple partners. Sacramento International Airport was featured when he touched down on the tarmac, while Avery Dennison sponsored his jersey reveal as part of the brand’s Kings In New Threads series.

[Social Value: $77,137] Rick Shiels’ LIV Golf partnership is helping the league generate attention—and now, his fans benefit too. The golf creator revived his Break 75 series after a four-month break, kicking things off with night golf at LIV Riyadh, the league’s season opener.

[Social Value: $11,076] Speaking of LIV, Riyadh Air’s Approach Challenge was a fun activation. I’d love to see this expanded into something more like Bryson DeChambeau’s viral hole-in-one challenge.

[Social Value: $31,490] The Lakers and Bibigo invited artist Simji to a game to trade one of her signature rugs for a player’s jersey. Simji is on a mission to give a rug to every NBA team, and the Lakers made the swap extra creative by featuring the Bibigo patch on her custom jersey-rug.

[Social Value: $5,778] Hockey teams do this all the time, but more teams should create sponsorship plays like the Penguins’ Dad’s Trip presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. Beyond being an awesome experience for players and families, it delivers the kind of wholesome content fans love. This could also work as a Mom’s Trip or Mentor’s Trip—just ask the Vancouver Canucks (See “Sponsored Content of the Week”).

*Social value is defined as the full equivalent media value of this social post based on applicable impressions, video views, and engagements.

🚨 ICYMI
What To Watch For

Monetizing Game Day Content: Join me, Stuart Drew (U.S. Soccer Federation), and Dan LaTorraca (Zoomph) for a webinar (2/26 - 1 pm ET) on maximizing gameday sponcon.

Creator Conversations: Two issues in, and I’m already hooked on Neil Tennant’s Paid Partnership newsletter. This week, he interviewed Alyssa Cronin—the creator behind Kickball Dad and social media manager for Baked By Melissa. Alyssa’s insights on partnerships are especially relevant for the sports sponsorship space, where rights holders are essentially content creators for their brand partners.

YouTube’s Big Bet: YouTube CEO Neal Mohan outlined four big bets for 2025, dropping some eye-opening insights—including that TV has officially surpassed mobile as the top device for YouTube viewing in the U.S.

Gone With The Wind: MLB’s Statcast can now measure wind’s impact on home runs both in-game and in-park.

O[OH]MG: A 2022 ComScore study found that OOH advertising drives 7x more social activations per ad dollar than any other medium [via John WallStreet].

Gen Z Wants Local: According to Locality’s The Local Lift study, 71% of Americans prefer localized ads—rising to 81% among Gen Z and younger Millennials (18-34).

Skip The Super Bowl: Ricardo Fort shared 10 better ways to spend your advertising budget than a Super Bowl commercial [via FootBiz].