Simone Biles Is SportsPro’s Most Marketable Athlete of 2024
There are plenty of marketable athletes globally, but according to SportsPro, beloved gymnast Simone Biles is the most marketable of them all.
SportsPro, a London-based sports business media company, has revealed its list of the top 150 marketable athletes globally. Coming in at No. 1 is Biles, a seven-time Olympic gold medalist from Columbus, Ohio.
Each athlete on the list received a “Marketability Score,” which was derived from three scoring categories — Brand Strength, Total Addressable Market and Economics — and a possible total score of 100.
Brand Strength, according to SportsPro, was determined by several factors, including in-sport performance, momentum, values and more. The maximum score for this category was 35. Total Addressable Market, which also had a maximum score of 35, was determined by overall reach, attention growth, social sentiment and more. Finally, Economics, which had a maximum score of 30, was determined by market value, estimated worth and more.
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Biles’ score was 96.16. Her Brand Strength mark was 35, Total Addressable Market was 31.55 and Economics was 29.61.
The decorated athlete is backed by several companies, including Athleta, inking a deal with the brand in April 2021 after leaving longtime sponsor Nike.
Coming in at No. 2 on the list was Brazilian soccer star Vinicius Junior (91.52), and rounding out the top five was NBA icon LeBron James (91.26), WNBA standout Caitlin Clark (90.26) and soccer megastar Lionel Messi (89.67).
About the Author
Peter Verry is the Senior News and Features Editor for Athletic and Outdoor at Footwear News. He oversees coverage of the two fast-paced and ultracompetitive markets, which includes conducting in-depth interviews with industry leaders and writing stories on sneakers and outdoor shoes. He is a lifelong sneaker addict (and shares his newest purchases via @peterverry on Instagram) and spends most of his free time on a trail. He holds an M.A. in journalism from Hofstra University and can be reached at peter.verry@footwearnews.com.
