Trump Urges Hall of Fame Induction for Roger Clemens Amid Renewed Debate 
LA28 Confirms Olympic Athletes Exempt from Trump’s Travel Ban 
Why the Australian Open’s online tennis coverage looks like a Wii sports game 
Australian Consumer Sentiment Slumps in Early December as Inflation Fears Resurface 
Asian Fund Managers Turn More Optimistic on Growth but Curb Equity Return Expectations: BofA Survey 
Australia’s major sports codes are considered not-for-profits – is it time for them to pay up? 
Trump Draws Cheers at Ryder Cup as U.S. Trails Europe After Opening Day 
MetaX IPO Soars as China’s AI Chip Stocks Ignite Investor Frenzy 
Ford Takes $19.5 Billion Charge as EV Strategy Shifts Toward Hybrids 
New Zealand Budget Outlook Shows Prolonged Deficits Despite Economic Recovery Hopes 
OpenAI Explores Massive Funding Round at $750 Billion Valuation 
Korea Zinc to Build $7.4 Billion Critical Minerals Refinery in Tennessee With U.S. Government Backing 
HSBC’s $13.6 Billion Take-Private Offer for Hang Seng Bank Gains Board Backing 
Trump Orders Blockade of Sanctioned Oil Tankers, Raising Venezuela Tensions and Oil Prices 
Blackstone Leads $400 Million Funding Round in Cyera at $9 Billion Valuation 
Trump Plans UFC Event at White House for America’s 250th Anniversary 
US sportswear giant Nike has retained the top spot in SportsPro’s list of the World’s 50 Most Marketable (50MM) brands, holding off challenges by rival sportswear brand and second-placer Adidas, Emirates, Santander, and Red Bull, who rounded out the top five.
Puma, State Farm, Monster Energy, Dream11, and Heineken took the sixth to tenth spots.
The methodology was based on Hookit’s assessment of sponsorship value done by tracking the social and digital posts of every major professional athlete, team, and league, totaling over 500,000 accounts between 15th August 2020 and 15th August 2021.
Over 30,000 sports athletes and organizations posted during this period, promoting more than 8,000 brands across various platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Twitter, VK, and Weibo.
Nike registered over 8.77 billion engagements on social media promoting its brand in a year, lequivaent to a sponsorship value of US$616.5 million.
Adidas exhibited a sponsorship value of more than US$270 million.
Having topped the list last year, Nike’s total represented a 58 percent increase in branded engagements and a 34 percent increase in sponsorship value received compared to 2020.
Scott Tilton, co-founder, and chief executive of Hookit, said that while it’s no surprise to see Nike at the top, there’s a significant shakeup in this year’s rankings compared to last year due to the comeback of sporting events, like the Euros and Summer Olympics
Michael Long, editorial director at SportsPro, added that the list speaks to the continued cultural relevance and unparalleled marketing nous of Nike, which is relevant not only in professional sport but in the everyday lives of global consumers.
