The value of the sports economy to Coastal Georgia

Last time I wrote here, I wrote on the economic impact of the World Cup in Atlanta. As I was researching for that article, I found some interesting stats on the economic impact of sports more generally. It’s appropriate today to think about that, with Major League Baseball nearing its home stretch, college football kicking off last weekend, and my son’s first taekwondo competition of the season just under his (blue) belt.

A January 2026 report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) divides revenue streams in the sports economy into core industries— professional sports, participatory sports, sporting goods, and sports tourism; connected industries—sports services, broadcast, sports gaming, nutrition, wearables and tech; and broader ecosystem stakeholders, including government, investors, academia, and others.

WEF finds that across these core, connected, and broader industries, sports produced annual revenue of $2.3 trillion globally in 2025, with expected revenue of $3.7 trillion in 2030, and potential to reach $8.8 trillion per year by 2050.

According to the Global Institute of Sport, about 40% of global sport revenue (over $1 trillion) comes from the United States. Top U.S. sports revenue categories, largest to smallest, are 1) sports products (apparel, equipment, nutrition); 2) sports participation (recreation, fitness clubs, gyms); 3) and fan engagement (events, media, entertainment).

We can also examine the size of the sports economy in terms of employment.

Nationwide, private sector spectator sports employed an average of 170,657 individuals in 2025, shelling out a total of almost $37 billion in wages for the year. In other words, spectator sports employment is only about 0.1% of all private-sector employment in the U.S., but these employees earn an annual average weekly wage 2.7 times higher than the weekly average wage of the private sector as a whole.

In Georgia, private spectator sports employ nearly 5,000 workers, again 0.1% of the state’s private sector employment. The sports employees earn an annual average weekly wage of $4111, compared with Georgia’s average private-sector weekly earnings of $1426.

In Glynn County, about 15 folks are employed in the private sector spectator sports industry. Out of a total of around 36,000 employees in all industries, Glynn County has 1300 private-sector employees in a combined industry grouping of “Arts, entertainment, and recreation.”

Much, if not most, of our sports economy is publicly managed and/or funded. Together, Glynn County and the City of Brunswick budget $24 million for parks and recreation.

Sports economists tell us that much of the direct spending on spectator sports simply reflects the substitution effect. If residents didn’t spend a Saturday dollar on a tournament ticket or concession stand, they would likely spend it at a local movie theater, restaurant, or bowling alley. The net gain in local GDP is often close to zero.

The true impact of the sports economy is what we would lose if it disappeared. In Glynn County, the real payoff isn’t measured in ticket sales or hotel taxes. It’s measured in the health of our workforce and the strength of our community.

Participatory sports keep employees healthy, lowering healthcare costs and reducing lost workdays across all local industries. More fundamentally, sports provide what my colleague Dr. Roscoe Scarborough recently described as collective effervescence—the emotional energy and sense of belonging that comes from shared community experiences.

Whether we are packing the stands for a Pirates or Terrors game, cheering on young athletes at a local martial arts studio, or meeting neighbors on a pickleball court, sports create a unique form of social capital. You won’t find that value on a corporate balance sheet, but it remains one of the most vital economic assets the U.S.—and Coastal Georgia—has.

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Dr. Melissa Trussell is a professor in the School of Business and Public Management at College of Coastal Georgia who works with the college’s Reg Murphy Center for Economic and Policy Studies. Contact her at mtrussell@ccga.edu. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the College of Coastal Georgia.