What W Partners does

W Partners is a privately held, boutique sales and marketing agency that represents sports properties, entertainment venues, corporate brands, and individual talent in negotiating sponsorships, naming rights, and endorsement deals. Founded in 2013 as a joint venture with the Ricketts family (the ownership group behind the Chicago Cubs), the firm operates from a single headquarters in Key Largo, Florida, and is led by CEO Wally Hayward alongside a small team of eight, including other Hayward family members in senior roles. Its three integrated service lines — Property Representation & Sales, Brand Partnership Strategy/Negotiation/Activation, and Talent Representation — cover the full sponsorship lifecycle from inventory valuation and go-to-market strategy through negotiation and ongoing activation support.

The business generates revenue through professional-services fees tied to these mandates, with no productized platform, proprietary software, or technology stack disclosed. Deal execution is supported by a strategic alliance with Cushman & Wakefield that adds commercial real estate expertise in venue design, financing, operations, and mixed-use retail development. Marquee engagements include the SeatGeek stadium naming rights deal with the Village of Bridgeview, the Gallagher entitlement with Premiership Rugby League, CIBC's theatre naming rights with Broadway In Chicago, the American Airlines exclusive culinary partnership with the James Beard Foundation, and a legacy Chicago Cubs portfolio covering AB InBev, Advocate Aurora Health, Gallagher, Starwood, Toyota, and Wintrust.

Since launch, the firm states it has cumulatively negotiated over $600M in partnerships nationally and internationally, although this figure represents aggregate deal value rather than agency revenue. Distribution is direct B2B — no resellers, marketplaces, or app distribution channels — and marketing is limited to the firm's website, LinkedIn presence, and direct email outreach. Ownership remains concentrated within the Hayward and Ricketts families, with no institutional capital, venture funding, or public-market exposure indicated in the available data.

Name

W Partners

Legal name

W Partners

Website

https://wpartnersus.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports & Entertainment Partnership Services

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Media Representatives (541840), Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (711410)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Affiliate Marketing & Partner Networks (BPAMALAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Affiliate & Partner Marketing (Performance Partnerships) (BPAFACAE)

Keywords

• Sports partnership agency
• Naming rights sales
• Corporate partnership strategy
• Talent endorsement representation
• Sponsorship negotiation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Key Largo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Partnership Advisory and Sales: Revenue generated through professional services fees for partnership strategy consulting, valuation and insights, negotiation services, activation elements, and sales representation for naming rights and corporate partnerships. The agency acts as an extension of partner teams to deliver winning partnerships that drive direct business and marketing results.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

W Partners is a boutique sales and marketing agency that represents best-in-class properties, brands, and talent across the sports, entertainment, and culinary industries. The firm negotiates naming rights, corporate partnerships, endorsement deals, and activation programs on behalf of clients, having closed over $600M in partnership value since its 2013 launch. It operates as a joint venture with the Ricketts family and partners strategically with Cushman & Wakefield for venue and mixed-use real estate advisory.

Product overview

W Partners is a premier sales and marketing agency operating as a joint venture with the Ricketts family. The company offers three integrated service lines: Property Representation & Sales (naming rights and corporate partnership sales for venues, teams, and municipalities), Brand Partnership Strategy, Negotiation & Activation (strategic marketing for corporate brands), and Talent Representation (endorsements and appearances for top talent). Since launching in 2013, the agency has negotiated over $600M in partnerships across the sports, entertainment, and culinary industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Property Representation & Sales
• Brand Partnership Strategy, Negotiation & Activation
• Talent Representation

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $600M in winning partnerships negotiated nationally and internationally since 2013

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Ricketts FamilycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partnership with the Ricketts family. The Ricketts family is notably associated with the Chicago Cubs ownership. This joint venture establishes W Partners as a premier sales and marketing agency with direct access to major sports properties and industry credibility.
• Cushman & WakefieldcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic alliance with commercial real estate experts Cushman & Wakefield to assist team ownership groups, universities, and real estate developers. Provides complete suite of services for designing, building, financing, operating, and maximizing long-term revenue streams for sports and entertainment venues and mixed-use retail developments.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Learfield (Learfield IMG College): U.S. college and university athletic multimedia rights holder and sponsorship platform. Comparable in that it monetizes sports rights (naming, signage, partnerships) on behalf of properties, but specialized to the collegiate market — a useful adjacent comparable for W Partners' property representation work.
• CAA Sports: Sports and entertainment division of Creative Artists Agency that advises leagues, teams, brands and athletes on sponsorships, media rights and marketing. Closely comparable services to W Partners — particularly naming rights, brand partnerships and athlete endorsements — backed by CAA's larger talent bench and corporate parent.
• Endeavor (IMG / WME): Talent and sports rights powerhouse encompassing WME, IMG and On Location. Competes with W Partners in sponsorship sales, naming rights and athlete representation; serves similar property and brand clients but as part of a much broader portfolio including events, media and licensing.
• Lagardère Sports: International sports marketing agency providing sponsorship sales, hospitality, content and consulting to rights-holders, brands and athletes. Directly comparable offering to W Partners' property and brand partnership work, with a stronger international footprint across European football, rugby and motorsport.
• Legends Hospitality: Hospitality, sponsorship and venue-services company co-founded by the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys. Provides sponsorship sales, premium hospitality and venue planning — directly comparable to W Partners' property representation work and aligned with its Cushman & Wakefield alliance around venue development.
• Octagon: Global sports marketing agency owned by Interpublic Group that represents properties, brands and athletes in sponsorship sales, consulting and activation. Direct functional overlap with W Partners across property representation and brand partnership services, but at materially larger scale and with broader geographic reach.

Emerging players

• SponsorUnited: Data and analytics platform for sports and entertainment sponsorships, providing valuation, deal tracking and market intelligence. Not a direct agency competitor, but an increasingly important data layer in the sponsorship value chain that influences the insights and valuation work W Partners performs.
• Zoomph: Sponsorship analytics and audience-measurement platform used by brands, agencies and rights-holders to value and report on sports partnerships. Adjacent technology competitor whose data-driven valuation approach could substitute for or complement the manual valuation services W Partners provides.

Direct peers

• 160over90: Creative-led marketing agency within Endeavor that builds brand partnerships, sports marketing programs and experiential activations. Closely comparable in size and boutique-style positioning to W Partners' Brand Partnership Strategy service line, with stronger creative and experiential depth.
• MVP Sports City: Independent sports marketing and sponsorship agency focused on naming rights, brand partnerships and athlete endorsements. Operates at a similar boutique scale to W Partners and serves comparable property, brand and talent clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/w-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about W Partners