The New Sponsorship Play Is Access To Fan Data, With Legal Setting The Rules

For years, sports sponsorship was about being seen. Now it’s about being understood. Brands are placing less emphasis on logos and more on the data that sits behind the fan experience, from app usage and ticketing behavior to concessions, content engagement, and partner interactions. The goal is no longer just reach, but a clearer picture of how audiences behave, spend, and respond across touchpoints. As that thinking takes hold, deal structures are evolving in parallel, with data access moving out of the fine print and into the core of the agreement, reshaping what sponsors are actually paying for.

Saverio Campanale, Senior Legal and Commercial Counsel at Legally Athletic, advises on the legal and commercial complexities behind sports, marketing, and media deals. The firm works with startups, agencies, sports organizations, and creative businesses on structuring partnerships, managing rights, and navigating data strategy, giving Campanale a clear view into how sponsorship deals are evolving. Currently on assignment as independent legal counsel at Booking.com, his background also includes negotiating global sports partnerships at adidas and leading creative legal work at Media.Monks. As deals shift toward audience access and data, he notes that the legal frameworks underpinning them are evolving just as quickly.

"Sponsors are not buying only sponsorship per se, or the right to be there, or the brand on the jersey. They really want access to new audiences and to understand them. That is what has changed," says Campanale. This evolution is closely tied to how younger audiences engage with sports. Fan loyalty is more fluid, and attention is increasingly shaped by digital touchpoints rather than legacy affiliations. As a result, the value of sponsorship is moving toward environments where behavior can be observed and acted on in real-time. Club apps, ticketing systems, and in-venue experiences are becoming critical entry points, turning everyday interactions into usable data. "If there's an app from the club and you download it to have access to the lineup or the menu, this is a kind of profiling from a marketing point of view," Campanale explains. "You can see what fans prefer and really use this data to grow from a commercial and business perspective."

• Game, set, pivot: Campanale points to Italy as a real-time example of how quickly audience behavior can reshape sponsorship priorities. As younger fans diversify their attention across sports and personalities, sponsor interest is following, shifting toward properties that better reflect where engagement is growing. The change is especially notable in a market long defined by football dominance, where emerging categories like tennis and women’s volleyball are gaining ground. "Last year was the first time the Italian Tennis Federation overtook the Italian Football Federation in annual revenue, which is an incredible shift for such a football country," he notes. "The young generations haven't actually seen Italy playing in a World Cup. They don't have a kind of sense of belonging to the national team."

• Parisian permission slip: As brands expand into multi-channel activations to reach younger audiences, particularly on platforms like TikTok, campaigns are becoming more complex, with multiple touchpoints, locations, and partners involved. That complexity raises the stakes, as even well-planned ideas can stall if the necessary legal rights and approvals aren’t secured upfront. For Campanale, pre-marketing clearance serves as a practical safeguard, helping teams validate feasibility before investing in production and ensuring campaigns can move from concept to launch without last-minute legal obstacles. "Let's say that you want to shoot something in a city, like Paris. You want to do an exciting activation, but find out you don't have the right to actually show it because you didn't get the authorization from the municipality," he explains. "So you need a pre-marketing clearance to see if you need authorization, especially in Europe, where we really have to be careful."

• Clicks, clubs, and consent: Behavioral targeting has become a core part of the sponsorship value exchange. Fans engage with club apps and digital features, while teams collect data that can be used to inform marketing and commercial partnerships. As that data begins to flow to sponsors, however, it introduces stricter requirements around transparency and consent, particularly under European regulations. Addressing those conditions early is critical. Clear agreements on how data is collected, shared, and opted out of help prevent disputes and reduce reputational risk for both clubs and sponsors. "The issue here is how this consent is given to the clubs and whether there is really a provision to opt out," Campanale notes. "Maybe there's a betting agency that's partners with the club, and you get some emails or a newsletter that comes your way. Maybe you don't want that. So is there a way to challenge that?"

To manage these risks, data governance is becoming a bigger part of how sponsorships are planned. Campanale says getting the structure right early helps avoid compliance issues later, including more technical challenges like joint controllership. What used to sit in the fine print is now moving front and center in negotiations. "In the past, data clauses were something left in the back of the contract or buried in annexes. Now, they're becoming really the core of the agreements," he observes.

For brands, this new environment changes where sponsorship strategy actually begins. It now starts with a clear understanding of data rights, permissions, and responsibilities, not as an afterthought, but as part of the initial deal. Markets like Europe still offer strong upside, but they require more upfront coordination, especially as regulations continue to evolve with frameworks like the EU AI Act. More organizations are bringing legal teams into the process earlier, treating them as partners instead of a final step. That shift helps protect creative ideas and avoids expensive rewrites before a campaign goes live. "If you can involve lawyers from the beginning, it can save you a lot of money. You'll have professional eyes on a creative world that sometimes needs it," Campanale concludes. "If you're sick and need a doctor, you call a doctor. I think it's the same with the legal world."