Are Sports Endorsements Beneficial to the Sponsoring Firm?

This review paper aims to determine whether sports endorsements are truly beneficial to the sponsoring firm by comparing and contrasting various prior studies.Relevant literature was identified to examine sponsorships at three levels-athlete, team, and event-and the findings are consolidated.The results show that the value of sports endorsements is based on multiple factors, including the athlete's reputation, how connected the sponsor is to the particular sport (congruence), the characteristics of the sponsoring firm, and the expectations of potential winners.Congruence is determined to be the most important factor, with congruent firms facing more extreme effects.Winning is proven to positively affect the returns for the sponsor, while the size and type of sporting event seem to differ significantly in sponsorship value.This synthesis highlights that the return on investment on these sponsorships can be high, but they are case-specific.