How much should I charge for motorsport sponsorship?

Start from the cost of delivering everything in the package, then price it on its value to the sponsor: the audience, hospitality and content they receive and what the same reach would cost them elsewhere.

What should a motorsport sponsorship agreement include?

The items to be delivered, payment dates, what happens if rounds are cancelled or the driver changes, branding approvals and how results will be reported.

How do you keep motorsport sponsors?

Deliver what was agreed, report after every round with photographs and audience figures and start the renewal conversation before the final round.

How to price motorsport sponsorship packages

A sponsor is a customer. They are buying access to an audience, hospitality, content and association with a team, driver or series. The price should reflect what they receive and the agreement should set it out clearly, so both sides can see at the end of the season whether it worked.

This guide covers how to list what you can deliver, how to price packages, how to write the agreement and how to report and renew.

List what you can deliver

Branding on cars, kit, transporters & awnings
Social media posts, video & photography
Hospitality passes & paddock visits
Driver appearances at sponsor events
Use of the car for displays & product launches
Introductions to other partners in the paddock
Audience figures for each round, online and trackside

Price each package from its cost and its value

Work out what each item costs to deliver, including staff time, printing, hospitality and travel. That figure is your floor. Then look at the value to the sponsor: the size and type of the audience, the hospitality they can offer their own clients and what it would cost them to reach the same people through advertising or events.

Group the items into three or four packages at clear price points rather than one negotiable figure. A title package, a main partner package and one or two supplier or hospitality packages give sponsors of different sizes a way in.

Worked example

In this illustrative example a team's main partner package includes car and kit branding, 8 hospitality passes per round, 2 driver appearances and a monthly content package. Delivering it costs the team £9,000 over the season in printing, hospitality, staff time and content. The team prices it at £30,000, which leaves £21,000 towards the running budget.

Priced at the size of the budget gap, say £45,000, the same package may not sell. Priced at £18,000 to close a deal quickly, half of it would go on delivery.

Find sponsors who fit

The easiest sponsors to sign are businesses that already want to reach your audience. Start with the people closest to the team before cold approaches:

Suppliers you already buy from, who benefit from being seen with a winning team
Businesses owned by drivers, families & guests in your hospitality area
Local companies that want to entertain clients at the circuit
Brands selling to the same people who follow the championship

Tailor each proposal to what that business needs, whether that is hospitality, content, product use or introductions, rather than sending the same deck to everyone.

Write it down

Every agreement should state what will be delivered, when payments are due and what happens if a round is cancelled or a driver changes. Staged payments ahead of the season and ahead of each round protect cash flow and make the sponsor's commitment real.

Report back

Send each sponsor a short report after every round with photographs, audience figures and the content published. At the end of the season send a summary of everything delivered against the agreement.

Start the renewal early

Ask for the renewal before the final round, while the season is still running. Many companies set next year's budgets before the season ends, so a conversation in November can be too late. Present next year's package with this year's delivery summary alongside it.

Sponsorship payments are one of the main reasons cash runs short during the season. Read our guide to motorsport cash flow for how to plan around them.

How to price motorsport sponsorship packages and keep sponsors