AI Becomes A Power Player In Global Sports Sponsorship Deals
Discover how multiple verified deals reveal AI's expanding commercial footprint across leagues, broadcasters, and global rights holders.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a major new category for sports sponsorship. Industry analysis predicts AI to be the fastest-growing sponsorship category in 2025, citing several high-profile sports partnerships in 2024. Tech sponsors are increasingly leveraging AI-driven branding and analytics, integrating AI tools into broadcasts and fan applications. The trend reflects growing interest in using AI to amplify engagement with global sports audiences.
In October 2024, FIFA announced Lenovo as its Official Technology Partner for the 2026 men’s and 2027 Women’s World Cups. The multi-event sponsorship will see the global PC technology firm provide AI-powered devices and AI-enabled data centre infrastructure. These AI-driven technologies–from smart laptops to servers–are intended to improve broadcasts and make football more accessible and engaging for fans worldwide.
In November 2024 the UFC appointed IBM as its first Official Global AI Partner in a multiyear agreement. IBM’s watsonx AI platform will power a new ‘UFC Insights Engine’ designed to analyse live fight data in real time for both domestic and international broadcasts. This system delivers predictive analytics on fighter tendencies and outcomes, enriching commentary, supporting broadcasters, and deepening fan engagement.
F1’s technology partner AWS has introduced AI-driven innovations. Since 2018, AWS has provided F1 Insights – data-driven analytics for broadcasts. In 2024 AWS unveiled a Canadian GP trophy designed by AI and invited fans to design one themselves. AWS is also creating ‘Statbot’ to automatically compile race stats from F1’s history. These tools aim to deepen fan engagement and enrich broadcast coverage.
In May 2025, Aston Martin Aramco F1 team announced a multiyear deal with CoreWeave, naming it the team’s Official AI Cloud Computing Partner. The AI cloud provider will migrate the team’s computing to its platform, accelerating car design and simulation processes. CoreWeave’s branding will feature on the AMR25 car and the team’s new wind tunnel will also be named the CoreWeave Wind Tunnel.
Google was named the Official Search AI Partner of Team USA in July 2024. The partnership with NBCUniversal aimed to enhance Olympic coverage, integrating Google’s Search, Maps and generative AI tools into NBC’s Paris 2024 broadcasts for viewers. NBC introduced an “Explain the Games” segment using Google Search’s AI-powered summaries, and commentator Leslie Jones even used Google’s Gemini AI assistant on air.
Intel was the Official Worldwide AI Platform Partner of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics. Its AI systems powered content creation and engagement: for example, Intel’s platform packaged tailored highlight clips from more than 30 Olympic sports. Intel also introduced on-site AI fan experiences (with Samsung) that analysed visitors’ actions and matched them to Olympic sports, showcasing AI’s role in enriching broadcasts and fan experiences.
In April 2025, the NFL named Adobe as an Official Technology Partner. Adobe’s AI-driven Creative Cloud (including Express and Firefly) will be used to produce personalised content across the league. Over 140 NFL content correspondents will use these tools to scale creative production, and fans will be able to design custom graphics and videos with NFL-themed Adobe templates, starting in the 2025 season.
Collectively, these partnerships show AI becoming integral to sports media and marketing. In practice, sponsors supply AI-driven analytics and creative tools to enhance broadcasts and fan experiences. For example, UFC’s IBM Insights Engine will provide fighters’ stats in real time, and the NFL/Adobe deal supplies AI templates for custom fan content. Leagues emphasise data-led engagement features and personalised content powered by AI technology.
These AI collaborations are particularly evident in broadcasting. For example, F1 has begun using AWS’s generative AI ‘Statbot’ to supply live race facts by scanning historical archives. Similarly, Olympic coverage featured Google’s AI-driven search overviews (used in NBC’s “Explain the Games” segments) to answer fan questions on air. Such integrations suggest media rights holders see AI tools as a way to create engaging live content.
Industry commentary suggests these AI sponsorships mainly involve established tech sponsors adding AI to their existing sports deals. Companies like Lenovo, IBM and Adobe have integrated AI tools into their partnerships (for example, UFC’s IBM deal introduced an AI-powered fight analysis engine). Each announced deal emphasises practical AI use in sports marketing and broadcasting, not speculative branding, underscoring AI’s concrete role in current sports media.
By mid-2025, these verified partnerships span top events (FIFA World Cups, Olympics) and leagues (UFC, NFL, F1). In each case AI is integrated into broadcasts or fan features. For example, Lenovo was named FIFA’s Official Technology Partner and Intel served as the AI Platform Partner of Paris 2024. Each deal underscores concrete AI use in content and marketing, underlining AI’s established role in sports media.