These figures come from named, published research. We use the exact attribution each source publishes.
| Claim | Figure | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual U.S. family spending on youth sports (Aspen's estimate, based on its parent survey and other research) | More than $40 billion | Project Play, Mar. 3, 2025: National Youth Sports Parent Survey, with Utah State University Families in Sport Lab and Louisiana Tech University Minds in Motion Lab (1,848 parents, fielded Nov.-Dec. 2024) | 2025 |
| Average family spending on a child's primary sport | $1,016 | Aspen Institute Project Play parent survey, with Utah State University Families in Sport Lab and Louisiana Tech University Minds in Motion Lab | 2024 data, published 2025 |
| Average family spending on one child's total sports experience | Nearly $1,500 | Aspen Institute Project Play parent survey, with Utah State University Families in Sport Lab and Louisiana Tech University Minds in Motion Lab | 2024 data, published 2025 |
| Increase in family spending since 2019 | 46% | Aspen Institute Project Play parent survey | 2025 |
| Average family spending on a child's primary sport, by category: travel and lodging / team registrations / lessons and instruction / equipment and uniforms / camps or athletic schools / other | $278 / $197 / $183 / $165 / $148 / $43 | Aspen Institute, National Youth Sports Parent Survey, full report (p. 25); parent estimates; total $1,015.64 | 2024 |
| Average family spending on the same child's other sports teams | $475 | Aspen Institute, National Youth Sports Parent Survey, full report (p. 25) | 2024 |
| Average spending on a child's primary sport, by sport: baseball / soccer / basketball | $1,113 / $910 / $876 | Aspen Institute, National Youth Sports Parent Survey, full report (p. 114; baseball is $1,112.50 in the report) | 2024 |
| Five-year increase in average spending on a child's sport: basketball / soccer / baseball | 105% / 69% / 68% | Project Play, Mar. 3, 2025: National Youth Sports Parent Survey, with Utah State University Families in Sport Lab and Louisiana Tech University Minds in Motion Lab (1,848 parents, fielded Nov.-Dec. 2024) | 2019-2024 |
| Primary-sport spending gap: households earning $100,000 or more vs. under $50,000 | $1,471 more per year | Project Play, Mar. 3, 2025: National Youth Sports Parent Survey, with Utah State University Families in Sport Lab and Louisiana Tech University Minds in Motion Lab (1,848 parents, fielded Nov.-Dec. 2024) | 2024 |
| Sports parents who call team or club fees a major challenge / minor challenge | 26% / 47% | Associated Press/Ipsos Sports Parents Poll, topline, fielded July 21–26, 2026 (510 parents of K-12 children who play organized sports; margin of sampling error ±4.9 points) | July 2026 |
| Sports parents who call equipment or uniform costs a major challenge / minor challenge | 24% / 45% | Associated Press/Ipsos Sports Parents Poll, topline, fielded July 21–26, 2026 (510 parents of K-12 children who play organized sports; margin of sampling error ±4.9 points) | July 2026 |
| Sports parents who call the amount of travel a major or minor challenge (26% major, 46% minor) | 72% | Associated Press/Ipsos Sports Parents Poll, topline, fielded July 21–26, 2026 (510 parents of K-12 children who play organized sports; margin of sampling error ±4.9 points) | July 2026 |
| Sports parents who call the time commitment a major or minor challenge (36% major); scheduling and logistics (31% major) | 84% / 84% | Associated Press/Ipsos Sports Parents Poll, topline, fielded July 21–26, 2026 (510 parents of K-12 children who play organized sports; margin of sampling error ±4.9 points) | July 2026 |
| Sports parents estimating household spending of $2,000 or less a year on equipment, fees, training, and travel; more than $5,000 | 68% / 11% | Associated Press/Ipsos Sports Parents Poll, topline, fielded July 21–26, 2026 (510 parents of K-12 children who play organized sports; margin of sampling error ±4.9 points); self-reported best estimate | July 2026 |
| Parents of minors whose children currently play who say paying for equipment has become a financial stress for their family | 58% | Good Sports, Cost of Sports Study, key findings guide (Oct. 23, 2024); conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Good Sports, Oct. 16-18, 2024, among 741 U.S. parents of minors (688 whose children have ever played); ±4.2 points | Oct. 2024 |
| Parents of minors who have not signed a child up for a sports team because of the cost of equipment and related expenses (base: all 741 parents of minors) | 14% | Good Sports, Cost of Sports Study, key findings guide (Oct. 23, 2024); conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Good Sports, Oct. 16-18, 2024, among 741 U.S. parents of minors (688 whose children have ever played); ±4.2 points | Oct. 2024 |
| Parents whose children have ever played who pulled a child from a team because of the cost of equipment and related expenses (base: 688) | 10% | Good Sports, Cost of Sports Study, key findings guide (Oct. 23, 2024); conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Good Sports, Oct. 16-18, 2024, among 741 U.S. parents of minors (688 whose children have ever played); ±4.2 points | Oct. 2024 |
| Officials who say their personal costs for officiating are too much (8,208 officials) | 22.92% | NASO National Officiating Survey 2023, “Finances of Officiating” dashboard (35,813 respondents) | 2023 |
| Officials who spend more than $800 a year on personal officiating costs that their sport does not reimburse | 31.31% | NASO National Officiating Survey 2023, “Finances of Officiating” dashboard (35,813 respondents) | 2023 |
| U.S. youth sports participation | 58% | Project Play / National Survey of Children's Health | 2024 |
| States (incl. D.C.) hitting the federal Healthy People 2030 youth sports participation target of 63% — holding steady since 2023 | 15 states | Jon Solomon, "U.S. youth sports participation increased to 58% in pursuit of 63% by 2030," Aspen Institute Project Play (underlying data: National Survey of Children's Health, 2024) | May 2026 |
| Youth sports parents who say they are more likely to purchase from a brand that sponsors their child's youth sports program than from one that sponsors their favorite professional sports team — a direct comparison, not stand-alone purchase intent | 67.3% | Priority Partnerships / YouGov Sport, "The ROI of Sponsorship in Youth Sports" (January 2026 study), report p.13 — survey of 1,345 U.S. adults including 922 youth sports parents, November 14 – December 8, 2025. Independently reported by Youth Sports Business Report, Jan. 27, 2026, which rounds it to 68%. We show the report's 67%. | January 2026 |
| Youth sports parents who are likely to select the brand that sponsors their child's youth sports program over a similar product, when cost and quality are similar — conditional on the two products being comparable | 80% | Priority Partnerships / YouGov Sport, "The ROI of Sponsorship in Youth Sports" (January 2026 study) — survey of 1,345 U.S. adults including 922 youth sports parents, November 14 – December 8, 2025. Independently reported by Youth Sports Business Report, Jan. 27, 2026 and Sports Planning Guide, Jan. 29, 2026. | January 2026 |
| Attention likelihood — community youth sports sponsorship (brand sponsoring a parent's own child's program) | 81% | Priority Partnerships / YouGov Sport, January 2026 study. Independently reported by Youth Sports Business Report, Jan. 27, 2026. | January 2026 |
| Attention likelihood — social and digital media advertising | 52% | Priority Partnerships / YouGov Sport, January 2026 study. Independently reported by Youth Sports Business Report, Jan. 27, 2026. | January 2026 |
| Attention likelihood — TV commercial advertising | 51% | Priority Partnerships / YouGov Sport, January 2026 study. Independently reported by Youth Sports Business Report, Jan. 27, 2026. | January 2026 |
| Parents holding positive sentiment toward youth sports sponsorship (3% hold negative views) | 84% | Priority Partnerships / YouGov Sport, "The ROI of Sponsorship in Youth Sports" (January 2026 study). Independently reported by Youth Sports Business Report, Jan. 27, 2026 and Sports Planning Guide, Jan. 29, 2026. | January 2026 |
| Youth sports parents who say a brand sponsoring their child's program is likely to earn their trust — the highest of any channel tested | 68% | Priority Partnerships Youth Sports Sponsorship Study (Fall 2026), conducted by YouGov Sport — survey of 1,004 U.S. adults, fielded August 27 – September 3, 2026. Reported by the PR Newswire release (via Yahoo Finance), Oct. 28, 2026 and Youth Sports Business Report, Oct. 28, 2026. | October 2026 |
| Youth sports parents who say sponsorship of their child's program would make them likely to try a company they've never used (51% for pro sports sponsorship, 49% for college) | 64% | Priority Partnerships Youth Sports Sponsorship Study (Fall 2026), conducted by YouGov Sport — survey of 1,004 U.S. adults, fielded August 27 – September 3, 2026. Reported by the PR Newswire release (via Yahoo Finance), Oct. 28, 2026 and Youth Sports Business Report, Oct. 28, 2026. | October 2026 |
| Youth sports parents who say they would consider a brand named an Official Partner of their child's program (56% for an Official Partner of their favorite pro team) | 71% | Priority Partnerships Youth Sports Sponsorship Study (Fall 2026), conducted by YouGov Sport — survey of 1,004 U.S. adults, fielded August 27 – September 3, 2026. Reported by the PR Newswire release (via Yahoo Finance), Oct. 28, 2026 and Youth Sports Business Report, Oct. 28, 2026. | October 2026 |
| Youth sports parents who say they would be more likely to remember a sponsor on their child's uniform than one on the uniform of a pro team they follow | 77% | Priority Partnerships Youth Sports Sponsorship Study (Fall 2026), conducted by YouGov Sport — survey of 1,004 U.S. adults, fielded August 27 – September 3, 2026. Reported by the PR Newswire release (via Yahoo Finance), Oct. 28, 2026 and Youth Sports Business Report, Oct. 28, 2026. | October 2026 |
| Population figures for California location pages | Varies by page | California Department of Finance, E-2 County Population Estimates | July 2025 (February 2026 release) |
| Population figures for Arizona and Nevada location pages | Varies by page | U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey | 2024 |
| Industry gross margin benchmarks used in the ROI calculator | Varies by sector | NYU Stern School of Business, Margins by Sector (Aswath Damodaran) | January 2026 |
Priority Partnerships / YouGov Sport (January 2026 study) figures: self-reported survey data — 1,345 U.S. adults including 922 youth sports parents, fielded November 14 – December 8, 2025, were asked and answered. None of these figures reflect measured behavior, eye-tracking, or recall testing — "attention likelihood" and "sentiment" describe what respondents said, not what was observed.
The Fall 2026 study is a separate survey from the January 2026 study, with different questions and a different sample, so we show its figures as their own labeled block and never compare the two. Its figures are self-reported too. We cite the public release and trade coverage, not the report PDF.
These figures appear on The State of Youth & High School Sports, its five topic pages, and the corrected Why Sponsor Youth Sports page. Each links to its source.
| Claim | Figure | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. high school sports participants, 2024-25 | 8,266,244 | NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey (press release, Sept. 9, 2025) | 2025 |
| High school officials who left the profession during 2020-21 (NFHS estimate, "at least") | 50,000 | NFHS, "High School Officiating Continues to Rebound, but the Work Is Not Done" | July 2026 |
| Registered high school officials, 2025-26 vs. 2018-19 (37 reporting states; 26 of 37 above pre-pandemic levels) | +9% | NFHS, same article | July 2026 |
| Sports officials responding to the NASO national officiating survey | 35,813 | NASO 2023 National Officiating Survey, as reported by NFHS | 2023 |
| Officials who have feared for their safety because of administrator, coach, player, or spectator behavior | More than 50% | NASO 2023 survey, as reported by NFHS | 2023 |
| Officials who have been physically assaulted during or after a sporting event | Nearly 12% | NASO 2023 survey, as reported by NFHS | 2023 |
| Officials who say sportsmanship is getting worse (57.02% in 2017) | 68.81% | NASO 2023 survey, as reported by NFHS | 2023 |
| Average age of responding officials (53.29 in 2017) | 56.68 | NASO 2023 survey, as reported by NFHS | 2023 |
| Officials who took on more assignments because of the shortage | 79.06% | NASO 2023 survey, as reported by NFHS | 2023 |
| Officials who say they are underpaid but accept budget constraints at their level (about 21% underpaid and dissatisfied; 18.3% paid what they are worth) | 60% | NASO 2023 survey, as reported by NFHS | 2023 |
| Officials who believe most new officials quit within the first 1-3 years (a belief among respondents, not a measured retention rate) | Nearly 59% | NASO 2023 survey, as reported by NFHS | 2023 |
| Average child quits a sport by this age; share of parents citing lost interest or no longer enjoying it | Age 11; 36% | Aspen Institute Project Play / Utah State University Families in Sport Lab, National Youth Sport Survey (1,032 parents) | 2019 |
| Cost-driven quitting, low-income (under $50,000) vs. high-income (over $100,000) households | 6x the rate | Aspen Institute Project Play / Utah State University Families in Sport Lab (same survey) | Published Jan. 2020 |
| Core (regular) team-sport participation among children ages 6-17, 2025 (highest level in 12 years by SFIA’s measure) | Nearly 41% | Aspen Institute Project Play, analysis of SFIA 2025 data (Oct. 27, 2026); 18,000 online interviews | 2025 |
| Change in regular sports participation among children ages 6-12 in households earning $25,000 or less, 2025 (every higher income bracket grew 2% to 7%) | −7% | Aspen Institute Project Play, analysis of SFIA 2025 data (Oct. 27, 2026); 18,000 online interviews | 2025 |
| Participation gap between the highest- and lowest-income household tiers, percentage points | 14.5 (2022) to 24.8 (2025) | Aspen Institute Project Play, analysis of SFIA 2025 data (Oct. 27, 2026); 18,000 online interviews | 2022 and 2025 |
| Sports parents who call team or club fees a major or minor challenge for their household | 73% | Associated Press/Ipsos Sports Parents Poll, fielded July 21–26, 2026 (KnowledgePanel; 510 parents of K-12 children who play organized sports; margin of sampling error ±4.9 points) | July 2026 |
| Sports parents who call equipment or uniform costs a major or minor challenge for their household | 69% | Associated Press/Ipsos Sports Parents Poll, fielded July 21–26, 2026 (KnowledgePanel; 510 parents of K-12 children who play organized sports; margin of sampling error ±4.9 points) | July 2026 |
| Sports parents who say the benefits of youth sports outweigh the drawbacks for their family | 89% | Associated Press/Ipsos Sports Parents Poll, fielded July 21–26, 2026 (KnowledgePanel; 510 parents of K-12 children who play organized sports; margin of sampling error ±4.9 points) | July 2026 |
| Parents whose child ever quit an organized sport who say cost played a major or minor role (pressure to perform: 40%) | 41% | Associated Press/Ipsos Sports Parents Poll, topline, fielded July 21–26, 2026 (base: 268 parents of K-12 children whose child ever quit or stopped an organized sport) | July 2026 |
| Youth initiatives as a share of tracked community sponsorship assets in pro and major-college sports (a team’s own programs, not youth-league sponsorships) | 28% of assets | SponsorUnited, Breakout Plays: The Trends Winning Sports Sponsorship in 2026 (Community Sponsorships); 1,615 brands and 253 properties across eight pro and major-college leagues, 3,612 community assets | 2025-26 |
| Brands that activate community assets and take part in youth-focused programs (a separate measure from the share of assets) | Nearly 45% of brands | SponsorUnited, Breakout Plays: The Trends Winning Sports Sponsorship in 2026 (Community Sponsorships); 1,615 brands and 253 properties across eight pro and major-college leagues, 3,612 community assets | 2025-26 |
| Youth coaches trained within the previous year in key areas (concussion management, safety, conditioning, skills and tactics, motivation) | Fewer than one-third | Project Play, State of Play 2023: Coaching Trends (SFIA data) | 2022 data |
| Coaches who said their community needs more coaches | 81% | Project Play, State of Play 2022: Coaching Trends | 2022 |
| High school athletes who compete at NCAA schools (more than 8 million high school athletes) | About 550,000 | NCAA, Probability of Competing Beyond High School | 2024-25 |
| High-school-to-NCAA rate: men's basketball / women's volleyball / baseball | 3.6% / 4.0% / 8.8% | NCAA, Probability of Competing Beyond High School | 2024-25 |
| Park and recreation agencies that charge registration fees for youth sports | 92% | NRPA, "Parks and Recreation Is an Essential Youth Sports Provider" | 2020 |
| Agencies offering reduced fees for lower-income residents | 65% | NRPA, same release | 2020 |
| Agencies working with partners such as private sports associations, school systems, and nonprofits | Five in six | NRPA, same release | 2020 |
| Annual cost reported by one D.C. provider for four football games at high school fields | $22,000 | Project Play, from State of Play Washington, D.C. | March 2025 |
| Youth sports access gaps in Washington, D.C. (Black children and girls underrepresented; less access in the highest-poverty wards) | Qualitative finding | Aspen Institute Project Play, State of Play Washington, D.C. | March 2025 |
| U.S. secondary schools with access to athletic trainer services (of 20,272 public and private schools; 34% had none) | 66% | Huggins et al., Athletic Training Locations and Services Project, Journal of Athletic Training 54(11) | Data 2015-2018; published 2019 |
| U.S. Youth Soccer member state associations; clubs and leagues | 54; 10,000+ | US Youth Soccer, About | Current as of October 2026 |
| Articles found in a scoping review of grassroots sponsorship research (literature through 2020) | 18 | Hindmarsh & Hayton, International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing 24(5/6) | 2025 |
| Articles on sponsorship proposals and packages among those 18 reviewed articles | 3 | Hindmarsh & Hayton, same review | 2025 |
| Clubs and sponsors in a doctoral study of sponsorship in English grassroots football | 98 clubs; 17 sponsors | Hindmarsh, Sponsorship in Grassroots Football (PhD thesis, Liverpool John Moores University) | 2020 |
| NBA jersey patch revenue, league-wide (estimate); average per team per season (estimate) | $285.8 million; $10.6 million | GlobalData, The Business of the NBA 2024-25 | February 2025 |
| SoFi Stadium 20-year naming-rights deal: reported cost (financial terms not officially disclosed) | As much as $400 million | Fox Business | September 2019 |
| Brand-tracking surveys analyzed in a study of the sponsorship halo effect (one large Australian company, six years) | About 15,500 | Vance, Raciti & Lawley, Measuring Business Excellence 20(3) | 2016 |
| Sports parents' quick-service restaurant visits (multiple times per week) vs. non-sports parents; share spending $300+ per month on QSR meals vs. non-sports parents | Over 50% more likely; 2x as likely | EMARKETER and DICK'S Media survey of 662 U.S. parents (via Youth Sports Business Report) | February 2026 |
| Sports parents who say their purchase decisions are influenced by other sports families | 95.9% | EMARKETER and DICK'S Media survey (same) | February 2026 |
Read these with their limits in mind. We do not cite a dollar comparison of structured versus unstructured sponsorship programs because we have not found a current, well-sampled source for one. NASO figures are survey responses from officials, and the "most new officials quit" figure is a belief, not a tracked retention rate. The athletic-trainer census covers 2015-2018. The EMARKETER and DICK'S Media survey relies on parents identifying themselves as sports parents. NBA patch figures are GlobalData estimates, and the SoFi figure was reported but not officially disclosed. The NCAA rates leave out athletes who play only on club teams.
Population figures for California markets come from the California Department of Finance's E-2 County Population Estimates (July 2025). Arizona and Nevada figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey. These are different data products with different methodologies and release dates, so figures are not strictly comparable across state lines. We use each state's most authoritative current source rather than a single national dataset. The nationwide city pages (outside Arizona, California, and Nevada) use the Census Bureau's Vintage 2024 city population estimates instead; see Local Market Sources below.
Youth sports participants and community reach figures on every location page are calculated from that page's population using the same chain: population × 15% (ages 6–17 share) × 58% (organized sports participation, Project Play / National Survey of Children's Health) = participants; participants × 3.0 (household factor) = community reach.
Each market page lists the sources for its local facts on the card itself. This table collects them in one place so they can be checked together. We add a fact to a market page only when we can cite it, and where a source is older than the current season the page says so (for example, the Chicago Park District figure is from its 2019 annual report, and the Miami-Dade School Board item is from 2019).
Shared sources used on the nationwide city pages. City population is the U.S. Census Bureau's Vintage 2024 estimate for the city, July 1, 2024 (Census Bureau, City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2024). State high school participation is the NFHS count for 2024-25 (NFHS 2024-25 High School Athletics Participation Survey), where a student who plays two sports counts twice. The regional pages add up the city pages' figures and carry the same sources.
Established Arizona, California and Nevada pages. The regional pages and the largest city and county pages carry the local facts below, in addition to the California Department of Finance and American Community Survey population data described above.
Arizona participation: sources conflict on Arizona's national rank (28th, second to last, and 49th all appear in published material), so we cite Project Play's 2023 participation share as reported by Cronkite News and the NFHS 2024-25 count, and do not cite a rank. The Southern California field-access figures come from an analysis reported by Hoodline, which describes it as overlaying OpenStreetMap field locations on American Community Survey data; they are that analysis's figures, not ours.
Notes on the nationwide figures: the Penn Relays 2026 numbers are pre-meet expectations, not final counts. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board registration figures were reported by a local news outlet and are not from a Park Board publication. Dallas ISD's own page states both "more than 9,300" and a larger breakdown for student-athletes; we cite the headline figure. Project Play's Portland report was released in October 2026, and its Southeast Michigan and Seattle reports are from 2017 and 2019. More caveats: the Omaha page cites only the survey results, summit, and Fair Game Project description on Project Play's State of Play Omaha page, because the full report is not yet published. The Brewers Community Foundation figure (more than 200 nonprofits) covers Wisconsin, not only Milwaukee. The Royals youth sports complex commitment was reported before a funding agreement was signed. Birmingham's $500,000 is the amount the mayor said the city plans to invest. Several items are older and carry their dates: the Milwaukee Sherman Park pledge (2013), the Baltimore recreation-center count (2017), the El Paso Academy Sports donation (2022), and the St. Louis Redbird Rookies figures (April 2023). The Columbus Crew Youth Partnerships Program page does not show a date. Also dated or undated: the Raleigh NHL/Hurricanes donation (February 2023), the Missoula PaddleHeads match (May 2021), the Albuquerque adaptive clinic page and the Bozeman Montana Surf listing (both undated). The Raleigh Eat to Compete award is cited to Hoodline's report of the City of Raleigh announcement because the city page could not be retrieved. Billings' fundraising totals are as of the July 16, 2026 article. Missoula's Wolverines tiers are the club's own published prices. The Louisville RCX Sports announcements are the city's own pages, confirmed by Zubie Five directly because the city site blocks automated retrieval. The Newark Red Bulls, Newark Public Schools, and U.S. Soccer Foundation commitment was announced in June 2018 for a five-year window, and we have not confirmed that all 20 mini-pitches were built. The Louisville City FC youth partners item is from 2017. Tournament and complex items: the Orlando AAU Junior Nationals figure is Visit Orlando's pre-event projection, not a measured result; the City of Blaine USA Cup page is undated (it lists July 2025 dates); the Williamsport $40 million and 70,000 figures are the Lycoming County Visitors Bureau's estimates, quoted by the state; the Myrtle Beach partnership item is a streaming-technology partner announced by the vendor (no naming-rights or title sponsor was found for the complex), and the city's 2023 figure is direct spending, not economic impact with multipliers; Grand Park's visitor figures are from a July 2025 Site Selection article, and the Droplight and Titan Bat naming-rights terms were not disclosed. Sevier County: the Pigeon Forge figures are the city's own, and where Ripken Baseball's separate estimate of about $320 million over nine years or its 2023 date for the Wear Farm City Park expansion differ, the city's figures and its 2022 date are used. The Rocky Top Sports World figures are the facility's own 2021-22 results as reported in 2022. Sevier County population is the Census Bureau's Vintage 2024 county estimate. Long Beach: the Olympic event count is the city's April 2025 release, and LA28's Games map (as of Oct. 26, 2026) notes that all names and venues are subject to change; the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid deal is a university arena sponsorship, not youth sports, with terms from the university's own release and the California State University trustees' approval; the Dodgers Dreamteam team and park counts are the city's own anticipated figures. Latest-batch caveats: the New Orleans NORDC flag football page and the Saints girls flag football report (Louisiana-wide) are undated or statewide; Honolulu's flag football item is statewide; the Oklahoma City Thunder camp sponsorship is from May 2022 and the Phillips Murrah page does not date its seventh-season note; the Sioux Falls Under Armour item is undated and the KSFY report is from May 2020; Richmond's tournament is in nearby Glen Allen. Third-batch caveats: the Wilmington Blue Rocks contribution total is from 2010; the Des Moines scholarship and ball figures are as of August 2023 and the activity book is from June 2020; the Fidelity Bank and League 42 gift ran in the Wind Surge's inaugural season; the Cheyenne grant page and the Wilmington Blue Rocks community pages are undated; the Charleston, WV Ks for Kids fundraiser (2022) benefited West Virginia KIDS COUNT. Participant and reach estimates on every location page are Zubie Five estimates, as described above.
Nothing on the site currently carries an unverified or pending citation. The 15-states/63% participation figure that was previously marked "pending review" is now fully sourced and appears in the Verified Sources table above. Five claims have been removed from the site entirely for lacking a real, confirmable source, rather than left up with a hedge: an 89% brand-preference figure, a $54 billion global sponsorship spending figure, a 3× Gen Z engagement claim (SFIA / Youth Sports Business Report — marked unverified and never independently confirmed), an accompanying 75% Gen Z brand-affinity figure that carried no citation at all, and a claim that parents spend 2–10% of gross household income per child on athletic activities, which sat next to the cited $40 billion figure without a source of its own. Corrections, October 2026: we corrected the brand-facing page Why Sponsor Youth Sports after re-checking its sources. The grassroots baseball and softball sponsorship study it relied on was a 2008 article using 2006 data from a small convenience sample, so we removed it, together with the claim that a formal package "roughly doubles" what sponsors pay, and now say plainly that we have not found a current dollar comparison; the "ad-hoc, informal, and relaxed manner" quote was misattributed to a 2025 scoping review and is now credited to a 2020 doctoral thesis on English grassroots football; the NBA patch average now matches its source ($10.6 million, not a $10.6–10.9 million range); the SoFi naming-rights figure is described as reported, not disclosed; the brand-tracking study is described as one Australian company's data; the sports-parent survey figures now match their source (quick-service restaurants, "multiple times per week"); and an unsupported "dating back to 1953" claim about the first stadium naming-rights deal was removed.
Some figures on this site are our own estimates, not published research. Our market reach figures are built from published population data and participation rates, multiplied by a household factor — the methodology is shown on each page where it appears. Sponsorship valuations from our calculator are estimates based on your inputs, not guarantees. The activation investment ranges on the Gameday Brand Activation Ideas page are Zubie Five planning estimates, not published research or quotes, and the page says so; its example scenarios are illustrations, not case studies. The same applies to the margins and dollar figures on the youth sports fundraiser ideas page: they are Zubie Five planning numbers, not published benchmarks, and its scenarios are hypothetical. The price bands on What's a Fair Price for Youth Sports Sponsorship? reuse the ranges published on our Youth Sports Organizations page (observed across published sponsorship pages from organizations in California and Arizona) and the Zubie Five planning estimates from the gameday activations catalog; neither is a published benchmark.
In the calculator specifically: the Fair Market Value "Base Rate" per asset and the location/business-density multipliers are Zubie Five estimates, informed by published ranges but not individually sourced — labeled as such directly on the calculator. Channel CPM benchmarks are blended industry estimates (IAB, OAAA, IEG), also labeled on the page. The old "ad blindness" comparison in our traditional-vs-community tool has been replaced with attention-likelihood figures from the January 2026 Priority Partnerships / YouGov Sport study — a real, cited study, not an internal estimate.
We don't publish modeled impression counts or projected returns. Our end-of-season sponsor reports use counted attendance, counted event dates, and dated photographs — nothing multiplied.
See the full community-reach methodology on Why It Works →
If you're checking our math before a board meeting, we'd rather hear from you than have you guess.