This third installment in our major assets report series examines the front-door brand engine of premium sports sponsorship—driving mass visibility, first impression, and long-term brand equity at scale. Across seven major U.S. pro leagues, major entryway or gate naming rights deals now attract more than $483M in annual brand investment, or roughly 18% of the total spend on major assets, including venue naming rights (40%), practice facilities (9%), gates, clubs/suites, and jersey patches (these last two assets types will be covered in forthcoming series reports).

Each partnership was evaluated only where entryway or gate naming rights served as the primary asset driver of the deal, ensuring the analysis focuses on investments centered around these entitlements.

Key Findings:

• Out of 280 sponsorship deals that include a major entryway or gate asset, 211 deals (75%) position the entryway as the primary featured asset. That concentration signals that brands increasingly view the gate as a primary entitlement asset rather than supplemental signage packaged into broader partnerships.
• When isolating only deals where the entryway is the main asset, total investment reaches $483M—over half of the $900M tied to all entryway-inclusive deals. This tells a clear investment story: capital is following prominence.
• Today’s most valuable gate deals extend well beyond naming rights into activation-driven storytelling. Brands are turning entryways into interactive brand environments—photo moments, digital zones, monuments, lounges, and service-oriented experiences.
• For brands, gate naming rights function as long-term brand infrastructure rather than short-term media. Multi-year deals shift sponsorship evaluation from impressions to sustained trust, consideration, and community relevance. This is especially valuable for healthcare, financial, and insurance brands where credibility compounds. Category exclusivity also delivers defensive value, positioning the sponsor as a committed community partner while locking competitors out of one of the venue’s most visible touchpoints.