Shohei Ohtani sparks US$4.3m in media value in a single day. Major League Baseball (MLB) delivered US$5.5 billion in total sponsor media value during the 2024 regular season, according to a new report from sponsorship measurement and data platform Relo Metrics.

Confirmed:

Total sponsor media value driven by 216 billion social impressions and 133 million total seconds of brand exposure
Shohei Ohtani delivers US$4.3 million in media value in a single day
Engelbert Strauss’ new helmet deal saw 30x growth in search interest during the playoffs
Nike earns highest sponsor media value from 2024 regular season at US$1.1 billion, followed by State Farm (US$117.7 million), Progressive (US$86 million), Toyota (US$78.3 million) and Bank of America (US$73.8 million)

Context:

Ohtani achieving the first 50/50 season in MLB history, which he managed on 19th September, prompted peak engagement during the 2024 regular season. The US$4.3 million of social sponsor media value was more than double the amount accumulated on any other day in the 2024 regular season. There were also 7.9 million engagements on MLB league accounts, which were the third most of any regular season day since 2020.

Nike’s whopping US$1.1 billion in sponsor media value is attributed to the sportswear giant’s status as MLB’s exclusive apparel and footwear partner. Beyond that, home plate signage was the main source of value for seven of the eight highest earning brand categories, including financial services, insurance and automotive manufacturer.

Relo Metrics’ methodology saw the company capture and analyse both every single live broadcast and every single social post (earned and owned) for each of MLB’s 30 teams during the 2024 regular season.

Coming next:

MLB will keep leveraging the ‘Ohtani effect’ ahead of the 2025 season, with Ohtani’s Los Angeles Dodgers facing the Chicago Cubs in a two-game series at Japan’s Tokyo Dome on 18th March.