By Tom Whitfield

The old sponsorship playbook — buy the assets, activate around the big moment, move on — is finished, according to Jessica Goldstein, Vice President of Partnerships and Marketing Solutions at the National Women's Soccer League.

"That model is already outdated," Goldstein said, speaking live from the Marketing Vanguard stage at Brandweek 2026 in a session hosted by Jenny Rooney. In her view, modern sports partnerships need to behave less like transactions and more like platforms.

Goldstein brings two decades of perspective to the argument. She has spent more than 20 years in sports, starting at the NBA in production and entertainment before moving into brand marketing. She then logged more than 11 years agency-side, building sponsorship strategy and women's sports platforms for major brands. She now leads partnership strategy and marketing solutions for the NWSL.

What does a partnership that grows the sport look like?

Goldstein pointed to Google's women's sports strategy as the model. Google entered the WNBA before doing an NBA deal, and focused on accessibility and discoverability rather than pure media spend. That work included helping move games onto ESPN and ABC.

The lesson, in her framing: the strongest sports partnerships create value for the brand while making the sport easier for fans to find and follow. A partner that brings more than media dollars can grow the property itself.

That matters for a league still building its audience base. Sponsorship, done right, is audience development.

Why is athlete storytelling a growth strategy?

For Goldstein, building the NWSL means building the athletes. The more fans understand a player's personality, interests and story, the more likely they are to follow that athlete, notice when they are playing and eventually tune into matches.

She set expectations deliberately low at the entry point. The goal is not to expect every new fan to immediately watch every game. It is to create enough connection that following the athlete becomes a gateway into following the league.

Individual players, in short, are the funnel.

Where does the fandom actually live?

Goldstein sees major opportunity in the crossover between sports, music, fashion, relationships and broader culture. Athletes show up at each other's games. Fans follow what players wear, listen to and care about off the field.

For the NWSL, that creates far more storytelling territory than match results alone. Sports is culture, she argued, and brands that understand those intersections have more ways to enter the conversation than brands that buy a perimeter board.

Why can't brands just buy the asset list anymore?

Goldstein was direct: sponsorship cannot be reduced to a menu of rights and assets anymore. Brands need broader platforms and 360 strategies that connect live events, content, media and different fan behaviors.

Her reasoning is behavioral. Not every fan watches every match, especially younger audiences. The partnership has to meet them across touchpoints. The value comes from creating a connected role around the fandom, not checking off contracted assets.

Tentpole moments, on this logic, only pay off when an always-on strategy surrounds them. Consistent presence drives long-term value.

Data has a role, but a bounded one. Goldstein's position is that data should inform partnership strategy without pretending to make every decision for you.

Women's sports, she added, can unlock categories and stories that traditional sports partnerships may not — an edge for brands arriving before the crowding.

The session was part of a special vidcast series recorded live during Brandweek 2026 and presented in partnership with Tatari.

The takeaway for brand marketers: the NWSL is selling a role inside a growing fandom, not a rate card — and the partners that treat it as a platform, following Google's WNBA playbook, will be the ones still standing as women's sports sponsorship matures.